Hold Me Close Tiny Dancer, Benny loves Your Jets
by Mercer Mercer
Summary: Sidney Crosby wasn't a stranger to women, just relationships. His life only had room for hockey. Imagine his suprise to find that would all change, after falling for the coach's daughter.
1. Chapter 1

Hold Me Close Tiny Dancer

because

Benny Loves Your Jets

by, Mercer Mercer

Even after two months in Pittsburgh, Michael still felt awkward riding in the car with her father and his family. It had been fourteen years since her parents separated, but Michael spent most of that time with her mother. Dan Bylsma had been absent for most of Michael's childhood, chasing his dream of becoming the next NHL star. Dan always said, if he could find a way to provide for Michael, making the same kind of money as he did in hockey, he would quit in a heartbeat in order to move closer to his daughter. For Michael, that was just another bold statement. In Dan's defense, it had been Michael's mother, Jacquelyn, that moved her daughter to New York City. The distance was always enough to make even Christmas an ordeal to visit.

Michael made the decision to move to Paris when she was fourteen to study Ballet. The thought of not being able to see her father never really crossed her mind. It's not that Michael didn't love him, it was just so normal not to be around him. When the opportunity to dance professionally in Pittsburgh with her old partner Allen was presented to her, it didn't take long for Michael to add her father to the list of reasons to leave Paris. Maybe it was the passing of her former instructor Pierre LaRue, the man that had served as a pseudo Father to Michael over the past four years, or maybe she actually missed her dad, but Michael wanted more than anything to establish the Father-Daughter relationship they never really had.

The giant houses that lined the roads of the Sewickley neighborhoods were getting larger. In the distance, Michael could see what had to be Mario Lemieux's house, decked to the nine's for his annual who's who of Pittsburgh holiday party. Guys were dressed in tuxes, women glamoured in gowns. In an attempt to get to know Mary Beth, Michael's stepmother, a prom like Mother-Daughter shopping trip engulfed Michael's day off during the week. Mary Beth had an eye for shopping and didn't spare an expense for the berry colored strapless gown that accented Michael's auburn hair. Michael looked and felt like a woman for the first time and it showed, especially to Dan.

There had been discussions of a wardrobe change to possibly a coat over Michael's dress. Dan refused to let his eighteen year old daughter step foot in front of a pack of hungry hockey players in that dress. Ultimately, the women won out, and the dress stayed. Michael couldn't understand what the big deal was about the cut being too low. She danced around on stage in barely anything in front of hundreds of people at a time, but Dan was adamant about his daughter not being on display.

Sidney Crosby flashed his best toothy grin and shook the hands of the Pittsburgh A-listers while posing for photo's with their wives. The organization had groomed their Captain well. Sid knew exactly how to handle the high society crowds, even the cougars that would occasionally slip their numbers into the wide palm of his hand. Women were always throwing themselves at him. He couldn't deny cashing in on a few offers, but that's all it was, sex. Sidney never felt comfortable around women. His life had been centered around hockey from the moment he woke to the time he went to bed. He could almost hear his father preaching about there being plenty of time for "that" after hockey.

The night wore on and Sidney had been on display for long enough. He appreciated his fans and tried his hardest to please each of them, but after so long, it became tiring. A few more handshakes and Sid quietly excused himself out the backdoor. The winter night was cold, but not freezing. Sid stood beneath the half full moon and breathed in the silence that settled around him...up until the moment he heard a woman's voice cry out in the night.

"Damn it!" Michael yelled as her stiletto caught between the cobblestone walkway, causing her to stumble to the ground. Michael sat foolishly, in the midst of her gown thinking how stupid she must look. She could dance across a stage on her toes, but walk in high heels, apparently that was a different story.

"Are you o.k.?" A voice called from behind Michael, causing her to scream out in surprise. Michael thought she had been alone. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, I heard you scream and I saw you on the ground." The face of the voice was still hidden behind the shadow of the night, but Michael felt foolish anyways.

"Yes, I'm fine, I just feel a little like an idiot right now." Embarrassed, Michael reluctantly took the hand of the man standing before her, trying to help her off the ground. There was strength in his arm as he pulled her to meet his eye level, revealing the face of the man she knew far too well. Every time Michael checked the Penguins web site, wanting to feel a little closer to her dad, Sidney Crosby's face, more often than not, wallpapered the team's site. She had watched countless interviews of the Captain, talking about the team's wins, and their occasional losses. Even though her dad was the Coach, Michael never thought that she would ever get to meet Sidney. The whole time she had been in Pittsburgh, never once had Dan invited her to the rink. Dan said that was where he worked, and not a place to socialize.

Sidney's eyes met Michael's. He unintentionally paused to reel in the surprise that stood before him. Never in his life had he seen a more beautiful woman. Sidney wanted to take it all in. He wanted to know her, to touch her, to set his lips upon hers. His head was swarming and his heart began to race. He needed to know this woman, but for the first time in his life, he was utterly speechless.

"Um, thank you," Michael said hesitantly as she felt every ounce of her body melting around the giant hand that surrounded hers. Their locking gaze threw surges through Michael's body, leaving her not knowing how to act. After all, how was she supposed to. Her experience with men teetered around her gay dancing partner and her friend from New York that kissed her goodbye before she left for Paris.

"I'm sorry, my name is Sidney," he siad, grinning with a small chuckle, realizing he was still holding Michael's hand. Reluctantly, Sid let go, burying his hand in his pocket.

Michael could feel her face turning red, wanting to kick herself for her ungracefulness in front of him. "I'm sorry, I'm a little embarrassed. I mean, I know who you are, um, that's not what I mean, I mean, my name is Michael." The heat began to rise even farther up her face, and Michael could only close her eyes and smile .

"Are you o.k.?" Sidney wondered why Michael would be walking outside, alone, on the cold night. Was she another crazed fan, crashing the party?

"Yeah, I think my hands are just a little scrapped up." Michael turned them to inspect the damage.

"No, I mean, why are you out here all alone?" Wanting to touch her hand again, Sidney felt his shyness with women overcome him. When there wasn't a chance of a relationship, Sidney was more than capable of talking to a woman, touching a woman. But the second there were feelings involved, he had been taught to jump ship and run the other direction. .

"Oh," Michael said with a sigh, " yes, I'm fine. There are just a lot of people in there and I needed some air." The cold air began to take it's toll on her bare shoulders, causing her teeth to chatter.

"You're freezing!" Sidney exclaimed, taking off his top coat and handing it to Michael.

"I'm fine, I swear. It's not that cold out here," Michael said, but her body shook in protest.

"Please, take my coat. This is how rumour's start. You wouldn't want people to think Sidney Crosby wasn't a gentleman." Sidney couldn't believe his ears. Never in his life had he referred to himself in the third person.

"No, we wouldn't want that." Michael took the jacket, trying desperately not to let her cards show. The intoxicating smell of his scent surrounded her in the warmth of his jacket. "Thanks."

Silence filled the air, riddling both their minds as to what to say next."You know, you really shouldn't be out here. How do you know the Lemieux's?" Sidney wished he could take the foot out of his mouth. Was she going to think he doubted her invitation? Was she going to think he was interrogating her? He felt like a bad version of Top Gun. Max Talbot tried giving him lessons on how to talk to women. Max would take Sid to the bars, introduce him to the next puck bunny, but that was never the same thing as actually trying to get to know someone. The girls at the bars were always drunk and far too willing. One time, Sidney realized he didn't even have to speak. But Michael looked different. She didn't seem like the type that would ask him to take her to his room tonight. She seemed, more innocent than that.

"Oh, um, well , Dan Bylsma is my dad." The moment Michael had been dreading finally came. She didn't want to tell him who she was. She felt like a little kid sitting at the adult table. Michael was 18, legal, and had spent the past four years away from her parents in a foreign country. But Michael had also been sheltered from everything. She had been told what to do all her life. Her schedule had been dictated from sun up to sun down. She didn't know how to talk to boys, let alone men. Sidney was 22, four years older than Michael. To her, she still compared that to a senior dating a freshman.

Sidney continued with his lack of social skills proceeding to say the exact wrong thing again. "You're Dan's daughter?" The look on his face said it all.

"Wow," Michael said softly. "You are confirming the last two hours of my life. I'm pretty sure my father didn't mention my existence to anyone within twenty miles of this party." Michael looked away, feeling the sting of wanting her dad to be more than he was." And that is pretty much why I am out here walking around on my own." Michael realized she was rambling to him and turned in embarrassment. "I'm sorry I just vented that to you, I mean , you don't know me and I don't know you. I, God, geez…um. I'm sorry, it's just, I mean, I have to keep explaining this to people, that I'm his daughter, and I guess, I just never thought I would have to. I just assumed people would know, like he might have mentioned that I was moving to Pittsburgh."

Sidney felt like an ass for making her feel like that. He could see it in her eyes that she was hurt. "No, you misunderstood. I did know Dan had a daughter, and I did know you were coming here, I just assumed you were much younger. He has a picture of the two of you on his desk. I think you are in a ballet outfit. You just looked younger in the photo."

"Oh," Michael shook her head. This conversation was going nowhere. She wanted to run and hide in the nearest hole. "Yeah, I think I know the one. I think it must have been from four or five years ago, when I was fourteen." Michael paused, thinking it would have been nice if her dad kept a recent photo of her, but honestly, that was possibly the last time Michael saw her dad before moving to Pittsburgh.

"Why are you out here, alone, I mean," Michael said, quickly wanting to change the subject.

"I don't know, I just get tired of it every once in a while." Sidney wanted more than anything to impress this girl, but his lack of social skills with women took over. "You know, people get celebrity crazy, and they start throwing themselves at you. It gets old after a while. I just needed a break." If Sidney had a gun, he would have shot himself. He could hear the words coming out of his mouth, but he couldn't stop them. "I mean, they just keep asking for autographs and pictures, and, well you know, I just needed some air. Of course, that sometimes is a bad idea too. We've had some crazy party crashers that have hopped the fence." Sidney wanted to yell at himself to shut up. Michael made him nervous. It took a lot to rattle the Kid, but when he was, he had trouble controlling his mouth.

Michael's impression of Sidney began to sour. What a self-absorbed asshole, she thought. "Well, I'll do you a solid, and I won't ask you for your autograph. So, I guess I should probubly go back inside. Thanks for the jacket." Michael removed Sid's coat and handed it back to him.

"No, please, wear it until you get back inside. Give it to your dad to bring to the rink on Monday." Sid stopped short in his sentence only to reconfirm to himself that he was an ass. This girl was pouring her heart out to him about her dad, and he dismissed her by going on and on about what a big celebrity he was. Sidney could only imagine what she must be thinking.

Michael removed the jacket anyways, and handed it back to Sid. Maybe he wasn't what she had thought of him after all. Maybe he was like all the other super stars. It didn't matter, Michael hadn't planned on seeing him again anyways. "No, that's o.k. Sidney, I will be fine. Besides, isn't that how rumours start? We wouldn't want the world thinking Sidney Crosby gave me his jacket." Michael calmly walked back to the house, wanting so badly to glance behind her just once more, but resisted.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Michael couldn't believe her dad offered to let the Penguins trainer look at her ankle. It had been riddling her with pain for the last few weeks and the trainer at the ballet didn't seem interested in fixing it, just taping it so Michael could continue dancing. Michael got the call at the end of practice that there had been an opening in the schedule. There wasn't enough time for her to catch the bus home and still make it to the rink befor the trainer left. To Michael's embarrassment, she had became lazy in her busy schedule, leaving her no stranger to wearing a ballet outfit with nothing more than a zipped up hoodie over it in public. It never bothered her when the guys on the bus staired at her ass in her tiny skirt, but Michael was a little leery about wearing it to the rink. For one thing, Dan was going to flip. He made such a spectical over her dress, and that covered way more than her ballet suit. Michael didn't care though. Her ankle was killing her and maybe now, people would realize Dan had a daughter and not just a son.

Sid sat in the corner of the room, listning to his head phones while the machines worked on his body. It was nothing more than preventative maintenance, but necessary the same. He tried to act absorbed in the book he brought, but his eyes kept wondering towards Michael who was standing across the room in her skin tight outfit that formed every curve of her body. Her hard nipples shone through the light pink body suit, causing his penis to swell. Sid hoped his book was enough to mask the girthy lump in his pants. Why couldn't he have kept his lucky jock on? Instead, his hardness pulsed, wanting nothing more than to slide between her tight thighs, deep inside her. Sidney couldn't think, he couldn't concentrate. He imagined his lips working their way down her neck. He wondered how firm her breast would feel in his hand.

Michael was like a novelty in the training room. A bunch of players quickly came down with mysterious injuries. They swooped like vultures, just to get a glimps of the coach's hot daughter. Michael had been noticed by more than just Sidney, and it pissed him off. Most of the guys would want a ride just for bragging rights. He could feel the rage boiling inside him. He wanted to at least speak to Michael, but he couldn't. Sidney was still embarrassed by the way he acted when they first met. It had to be true, Michael didn't even glance in his direction even once. She must be avoiding him.

Nathalie Lemieux made her way towards the trainers room. Keys to the house had gone missing. Security changed the locks on all the doors that day. Sidney was like a second son to the Lemieux family, and like any mother, Nathalie was afraid Sidney would return home only to be locked out. Nathalie wasn't new to the NHL, and she knew how players could be towards women, but she was definitly suprised when she caught Sidney staring at Michael. She knew Sid was a good guy, but she wasn't nieve to know what he was doing when he didn't return home. Even the best of men couldn't resist that kind of temptation thrown at them forever. But she also saw an emptyness in Sid. She knew he longed for someone to return home to, but she also knew he didn't know how to make that happen. All the skills were given to the kid to succeed in life, all of them except those in the romance department.

"You should talk to her," Nathalie said as she placed her hand on Sid's shoulder. Sid had been so focused on Michael that he hadn't seen Nathalie come in. Sid's face became hot, knowing that he had been him. He quickly folded his book on his lap, covering his indiscretion that nathalie, of all people, surley would have seen. "She's really pretty, and sweet too."

"Oh, um, hi Nathalie. I didn't see you come in."

"I know," Nathalie said, amused with what she saw. At least Sid was showing interest in someone. Mario told her to stay out of Sid's personal life, especially the part that involved girls. She tried countless times at matchmaking, but failed at every attempt. Maybe it was because each of her choices tried to live their lives through Sid. They were more like groupies than girl friends. Sidney was their fifteen minuites. Nathalie saw the toll it took on her guy and eventually she stopped. But here was a girl that had everything going for her. Michael had her own life, she lived abroad, and she had that connection to the players world that might deminished the fame just enough to make a relationship possible. Michael was...perfect for Sidney. Now the real challenge, to make him realize it.

"Will Mario be home tonight?" Sidney said, grasping for any piece of conversation that would divert Natalie's attention from his prolonged stare, and of course, his massive erection that was shrinking at a glacial pace.

"No, not tonight." Nathalie ignored Sid's uncomfortableness as she had a bigger task at hand. "They changed the locks on the door, dinner at five, don't be late." Nathalie didn't bother to make eye contact as she dangled the house key infront of Sid's face. "See you then."

Nathalie strolled across the room full of sweaty hockey players like it had been her classroom. Manors developed as she walked past each man, who as always, greeted the Queen of the castle with the utmost respect. She cared about each of her boys, but she by passed them by to get to her task at hand.

"Michael, it's so good to see you again. Is everything o.k.?" Nathalie said to Michael while she sat upon the table and the trainer did his job.

"Oh, hi Nathalie." Michael was suprised she even remembered her name. They spoke at the party for just a brief moment. "Yes, I'm fine, just a little ankle issue." Michael looked at the trainer and back at Nathalie. " Perks and benefits of being the coaches daughter I guess."

Nathalie developed a thick skin through years in the spot light of being the wife of The Great One. She stopped messing around when she wanted something, and just took it. "Michael, I was thinking, you are still new to Pittsburgh, and are probubly a little home sick. Why don't you come to the house tonight for dinner, around five? I will have the cook make something Parisian!"

The invitation caught Michael off guard, but with grace, she recovered. "Oh, that sounds fantastic. Thank you so much. " The thought emerged in her head, and Michael realized _he_ might be there. She was aware of Sid's presence in the corner this whole time, but she never gave him the satisfaction of making eye contact, until now. Michael's eye lifted for the half second to grab a glimpse of Sid, only to find him gone. Good, she thought. Maybe he wouldn't be there after all.

Nathalie now had the confirmation she needed. She saw the glimpse in Michael's eye. She knew she was aware of Sid. She promised Mario, the previous match was the last, but this time, she really had a feeling. "Wonderful. we eat at five, so maybe around four-thirtyish. Listen, I need to run, we will catch up later. See you this evening."

"Thank you Mrs. Lemieux. I can't wait." But she could wait. The bus ride home, Michael's mind was like a frenzy to her closet. What should she wear? It wouldn't matter if he wasn't going to be there. But if he was, then everything mattered. Sidney made her feel like nothing more than a fan at the party. She wanted to prove to him that she was much more than that.

Dan picked Michael up at her apartment on his way home from the rink. Michael flip flopped her thoughts between paying for a cab to second guessing the outfit she chose. She wouldn't mind always bumming rides from her dad, if he wasn't always so critical. The conversation circled from her tight jeans to the meaning of Nathalie's invitation, and then back to her jeans. Michael ignored Dan's wardrobe protest. She thought her outfit of designer jeans, with her blouse and high heels was the right choice. It was all the rage in Paris this year. But the invitation, finally she had to shut her father down by reminding him that she was still new to Pittsburgh and that Nathalie was trying to be nice.

The driveway to the mansion was vacant of the well known Land Rover. Relief settled in Michael's already nervous stomach. Her hopes that Sidney wasn't home might have come true. Alexa, the youngest of the Lemieux children answered the door, greeting Michael with many questions about France and what it had been like to live there. Nathalie arrived, appologizing for not answering the door on her own, but a phone call had tied her up. Only two of the Lemieux children were going to be at dinner tonight, Austin and Alexa. Michael was a little relieved after the exuberant amount of pre-teen questions spilled from Alexa's mouth. Michael was excited to be able to talk about _home _to someone, but she had to wonder if she had been that chatty when she was Alexa's age.

Dinner was served, and the half clan began to emerge around the dining room table. Seats had been filled, all except for one. The empty chair sat there like the tell-tale heart, waiting for it's occupant to arrive. Michael thought, maybe it belonged to another Lemieux, possibly to return from an after school activity. But her question was quickly answered after Sidney appeared through the doorway, unawair of Michael's presence.

"Austin, you are going down. I want a rematch after..., Oh, I didn't know we had company." Sidney stopped dead in his tracks, suprised by the person occupying the seat at the table.

Sidney, this is Dan's daughter, Michael. I invited her to dinner tonight." Nathalie saw the look on Sidney's face, and was very pleased with herself. "Michael spent the last four years studying ballet in Paris. She's new to the area, and I thought we could make her feel at home by offering her a nice Pariaisn dinner. Sidney, you remember what it was like moving here, not knowing anyone. That was hard for you. Perhaps you could show Michael around Pittsburgh sometime, make her feel at home."

Sid knew far too well what it was like, and he remembered how the Lemieux family took him in, treating him like a son this whole time.

"Hi, yes we met...at the holiday party." Michael decided to salvage her image and take charge. She wasn't going to let him dominate her this time. She had practiced what she would say to him, after that night, if she ever spoke to him again. Strong and confident woman, that's what she kept replaying in her mind.

Sidney sat quietly throughout dinner, as the family chatted with Michael. She explained how her mother moved them to her grandmother's after her parents seperated. Michael's grandmother had been a well known prima ballerina throughout Europe in her younger days. Ballet classes began immediatly for Michael as part of the deal. Michael had the same gift as her grandmother, and the same spark in her eye. Her grandmother opened many doors for Michael in the ballet community, but in the end, it had been Michael that danced the audition that got her accepted with the Paris conservatory.

Sidney found himself taken back by Michael's story. Her life hit a cord that struck home. Michael's life had been orchestrated the same as his. Schedules dictated, friends lost from their obsession. But all things sacrificed for something that made each feel like they were whole. Michael said her life had always been messy and confusing, especially without having a dad around. But when she was on stage, everything seemed in focus. It was where she felt the most freedom to be herself. Sidney was, even more than before, infatuated.

Michael wished the kids would have come along for the ride. Nathalie planted the idea of taking Michael to downtown Sewickley for the Holiday Days Extravaganza. Michael made the mistake of letting her know that she hadn't been downtown yet, and of course Nathalie insisted they go. It was a shame when they discovered that Austin hadn't finished his homework, and Alexa convieniently wasn't feeling well. Sidney knew Nathalie never let Austin go a day without finishing his homework directly after school, and Alexa seemed just fine with a bowl of ice cream as they were leaving. Sidney and Michael's evening alone together had Nathalie written all over it.

"Do you want to check out the outdoor pond?" Sidney said during the awkward drive.

"The pond?" Michael said, curious, but still silent beside her driver. Michael hadn't forgotten how Sidney acted towards her the other night, and it showed.

"Yeah, the pond. There is an outside skating rink open to the public. I've been meaning to check it out."

"Won't you be overwhelmed by your fans?" Michael laid the satire on thick.

"No. People are used to me in Sewickley. They tend to leave me alone for the most part. Look, I'm sorry about the other night. It's just, I didn't know who you were, and we have been having problems at the house. Security problems. I just didn't realize who you were. I thought you might have been someone who wasn't supposed to be there" Sidney tried to sound sincere, hoping she would finally forgive him.

"Oh. I didn't know. I'm sorry. " Michael felt embarressed by her judgement. He had been an ass to her, but she didn't know why.

"It's o.k., you didn't know, but I shouldn't have acted like that the same. I get tired of being on sometimes. I guess I was out there for the same reason as you. I get tired of always being on. So, " Sidney said with a pause, "would you like to go ice skating?"

"Sure," Michael could have kicked herself for speaking without thinking. Why would _she_ want to go iceskating? Her father had tried for years to get her on skates, and failed miserably. Michael looked like a deer trying to walk on the ice.

Michael slowly tied the laces of her skates, regreting her decision with every loop she made. This was going to be a disaster, and whatever Sidney thought of her before, was about to get even worse.

"Are you almost ready?" Sidney said with the enthusiasm of a school boy. Anything that envolved a chance for him to get on the ice and fly made him feel like it was Christmas.

Michael sat, bent over her laces, and finally stopped. "I can't do this."

"What? Is there something wrong with the laces? We can get another pair of skates." Sidney stood over Michael, ready to fix whatever she needed.

"No, I mean I can't do this, skate. I don't know how to ice skate. " Michael finally looked up at the eager man standing above her with a confused look on his face.

"What do you mean you can't skate? Your're dad is Dan Bylsma. I thought you would have practically been raised on the ice."

"Maybe, I guess, if my dad had ever really been around. " Michael sat back in her chair, leaning her head against the wall, closing her eyes. Not this again, she thought. Perhaps she should wear a sign around her neck saying that Dan might be her dad, but you probubly know him better.

"I'm sorry, I forgot," Sid wanted more than anything to prove to this girl that he wasn't the asshole she thought he was, instead, he kept digging his hole deeper and deeper. "I just assumed. I mean, I'm such an ass. "

"No, it's o.k., you're not an ass. You're just trying to be nice. I get it. And it's fine. I didn't say that to make you feel awkward, I just really really didn't want to embarrass myself infront of you, because I am very certain that, in a few short minuites, my face will be laying face down on the ice, and quite frankly, I'm tired of being around you after I've fallen!" The moment overcame Michael, and for the first time, she let herself just be around this guy. She didn't try to be the prim and proper ballerena. She didn't try to be the socialite to all the people in her new world. She very simply, very messily, tried to be the only thing she knew how to be...Michael.

Michael stared at the look on Sid's face for what seemed like an eternity before he busted out laughing. "I do tend to find you on the ground, don't I." Sidney couldn't help but laugh somemore. Michael's face turned a firery red before she too began to laugh. Sidney couldn't take his eyes off of this woman. She came at him from all directions. He couldn't get an angle on her. She wasn't an 87 groupie, she didn't try to be fake around him, and she certainly didn't treat him like he was a God. He was falling for this girl, hard. "What if I promise not to let you fall? Would you skate then?"

Michael laughed again. "I'm not sure you understand what you are getting yourself into, but o.k." Michael stood in her skates, only to loose her balence like someone had pulled a rug out from undeneath her.

"I told you I would keep my promise," Sid said as he grabbed Michael, pulling her into his chest, keeping her from falling to the ground. "Can you stand? My god, you aren't even on the ice yet."

Michael's eyes closed in arousal, feeling Sidney's arms holding her close to his rock hard chest. Sparks were lighting up places of her body that she didn't even know existed, and she liked it. Michael somehow found her barings, and slowly looked into the dark brown eyes that stared down at her, causing her panties to uncontrollably become wet. How could a simple pair of eyes cause her to feel like the air had been knocked out of her. Michael's voice seemed to allude her at the moment, and all she could whisper was " I warned you."

"I will consider myself warned," Sidney said as he grabbed Michael and threw her over his shoulder, running onto the ice, in a move that was farthest from any action Sidney ever soberly acted on a woman. Michael screamed in protest until she was on her feet flying around the rink. Sidney held onto her waste, keeping her balance while his stride took her faster and faster. At first, her body was rigid. She wasn't sure if it was the fear from the skates, or the touch of a man. It didn't take long for Michael to give in, sinking into the body behind her. His massive thighs found themselves skating between her legs, and Michael relished every second of his touch. Her knuckles were white, gripping the solid hands that held her into his body. Sidney naturally rested his head on her shoulder, smelling her hair with every breath he took.

It seemed like they had been on the ice for hours. Michael could feel her ankle burning, but didn't want to end the moment. It had been Sidney who finally suggested a hot chocolate. Michael removed her skate with a grimace, inspecting her ankle from the strain of the skates.

"Oh my god," Sid said with alarm. "I forgot you were having ankle problems. I saw you at the rink today with the trainers. I'm such an ass. I never should have made you go skating."

"No, really, it's fine. Skating doesn't feel half as bad as when I'm on my toes." Michael smiled at Sidney, reassuringly. "I had a lot of fun tonight. You are the first person who ever made me enjoy ice skating. This will go down in the records."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

Allen walked with a bit of a swagger, carrying a giant box of flowers. The card was addressed to Michael, but the identity of the sender was killing him. Michael never received flowers. On occasion, a family member sent her a bouquet, but they were usually small and sometimes gawdy. This box was huge, and screamed roses, a dozen at least. If Allen didn't know Michael so well, he would have taken a peek before he brought them to her, but she would have been angry that he ruined her surprise. Michael had been Allen's partner for over four years, she could read his face like a book. If the flowers were from an admirer, he would have spoiled it.

"Special delivery!" Allen placed the long white box on Michael's dressing area, neatly arranging the large red bow that sat on top.

"Who are these from?" Michael asked, curiously. She knew her dad wasn't coming to the performance, nor did he inform her of a potential socialite being there.

"That's what I'm dying to find out! They were delivered to the front for you. Open them!" The tapping of Allen's toe meant business. Michael knew not to leave her lady in waiting.

Inside the box lay two dozen large red roses, placed professionally with an elaborate bow around them. They looked expensive. Allen could hardly contain himself, he grabbed the card and shoved it into Michael's hand. "Open it!"

Michael's eyes grew larger as she read the card. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be him. Any other possibility circled through her head, but it only lead back to one. Michael stared at Allen with an awe struck look on her face, mimicking the words aloud that were printed on the card. "Good luck tonight, I'm sure you'll be beautiful. Sidney." Michael couldn't believe what she read. Denial set in, and she heard herself mouth the words, "Do I know a Sidney?"

"Didn't you spend the other night ice skating with Sidney Crosby?" Allen's eyebrow raised, giving Michael the look. "What else did you do besides ice skate?"

"Nothing, I swear. We had a nice time, but these couldn't be from him. I mean, come on. They must be from one of the Bob's out there. Just another middle aged man, sitting in the seats, fantasizing about ballerinas. They're not from him, right?"

"I don't know Mike, who else could they be from? " Allen danced around, acting as immature as ever. "Michael's got a boyfriend, Michael's got a boyfriend!"

Normally, Michael would engage in Allen's taunts with her own recourse, but this time, she stood there in shock, staring at her roses. "Whatever, they are probably from some crazy guy. Let's just go, we need to warm up."Michael pushed the roses to the back of her mind, and almost forgot about them by the second act. Christmas was approaching, and the Company was performing the Nutcracker, sometimes twice a day. Fatigue was setting in, but Michael didn't mind. She missed her old dancing partner, and was glad to have Allen back in her life.

Nobody noticed him. Nobody even paid attention to him. It was like he was a ghost. Just another face in the crowd, and he liked it. The stereotype was there, Sidney guessed the ballet world knew little about hockey. Sidney needed to see Michael again, more than anything. He longed for her presence. So when he got the idea of surprising her at the ballet, he had no idea how hard it would be to find seats at such a short notice. Sidney cashed in a few favors, adding a few extra autographed items to grease the wheels and to add a little privacy. Sidney didn't want anyone to know he was going to the ballet, especially the guys on the team. He paid for two tickets, as close to the stage as he could get. He thought about asking Nathalie to go with him, giving him the alibi of an escort , but that would only give her the satisfaction of knowing she was right about his crush on Michael. Sidney blended silently in the seats. The lights went down, and he immediately spotted Michael on stage. It was like a spotlight was on her and no one else. A bomb could have exploded in the empty seat beside him, but Sid wouldn't have noticed. He watched her body move like nothing he'd ever seen before. The look on her face gave her away. She was in love with dancing, and it showed.

"Ladies, cover your boobies if you think I care, I have another special delivery for our very own Michael!" Allen ransacked the women's changing room, flinging costumes on the ground, making room for the second, extremely large, extremely long, white box. "You, my dear, have an admirer. His name is Sidney, he left his number, he wants to have dinner. So sue me, I peaked." Allen rummaged through Michael's bag to find her phone, shoving it in her face. "Call Him!"

"What, Allen!" Michael said, swatting his hand from her face. "What are you talking about, let me see the card." And there is was, in his own handwriting, signed with a silly little face at the bottom, Would you like to have dinner tonight, his number, signed Sidney.

Sidney waited outside the theater, leaning against his Land Rover under the street lamp. His heart was pounding. He actually thought Michael might turn him down for dinner. The site of her, walking out the back door made the pounding skip a beat. Her hair was still pulled back into a tight bun, and her costume make-up was still on. But to Sidney, she looked as beautiful as she did the night of the party.

"Here, let me take the boxes," Sidney grabbed the roses, placing them in the back seat.

"Thank you for the flowers," Michael said shyly. "You didn't have to do that. I mean, they are very beautiful, thank you." Michael wasn't used to attention from men. Sure she noticed them noticing her body, and she could handle that. But no one ever approached her. Bought her flowers. Watched her dance.

"You were amazing tonight." Sidney found himself reaching over to kiss Michael on the cheek, an action even he was surprised by. There was something about this girl that drew him in. He couldn't stop himself.

Michael's face burned with excitement where Sidney's lips touched. She wanted more than anything to turn her face into the kiss, something she had seen countless times in movies, waiting for the day that it would happen to her. His kiss made her whisper even softer, as she mouthed the words, "Thank you."

"Um, you must be starving. I took a chance and made dinner reservations at LeMont." Sidney laughed, "I'm glad I won't be eating alone tonight."

"Oh, I would love to go, but," Michael looked at herself and then at Sid, in his dark grey suit. "I think we would look kind of funny with you in a suit, and me in my sweat pants."

"I wouldn't care, you could wear a sack if you wanted. I just wanted to see you." Sidney was tired of holding back, he wanted this girl. Michael beamed with her usual red cheeks, something that was becoming a habit after every time he talked. Sidney stared into Michael's eyes, gathering the courage to do what he had wanted to do since the night they first met. "I'm not good at this, I think you figured that out the night of the party, and I'm sorry for that. I get nervous when someone makes me feel this way. I like you, I like you a lot, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. Maybe I'm not supposed to say that, maybe I'm coming off as crazy, but I can't help it." Sidney's words were far from being rehearsed. He wanted to let himself go like the night he carried Michael onto the ice, but he was dancing around what he really wanted. "Screw it," he said as he slid his arm around Michael's waist, pulling her into his body. He left his eyes open, for just a moment, to look into her eyes and then to her lips, letting Michael know what he wanted to do. The cold air rose around their faces, moving in and out of each others mouths. Michael gasped as her body sent a surge through her loins, and he kissed her. He kissed her like it was the last time he would ever kiss a woman. Their tongues met, entangled in their mouths embrace. Sidney pushed Michael against his car, allowing his whole body to cover hers. Michael felt weak in his embrace. His taste made her feel drunk.

Michael didn't resist Sidney, but reality was sinking in. It was selfish of her to withhold the truth, just to feel him a little longer. She couldn't let go, she didn't want to let go. He felt so good. Why couldn't she pretend just a little bit longer, why couldn't she fantasize about them being together, having a normal relationship together, maybe even a normal life together. It wouldn't be fair to him, and Michael found herself pulling back from Sidney's lips, only to look down at his tie.

"Did I do something wrong? I'm sorry, I never would have kissed you if I didn't think," Sidney paused, confused. Only a matter of seconds ago, he had Michael in his arms only to have her pull away.

"No, you didn't do anything wrong, I just, I can't do this without telling you something." Every insecurity was bleeding from Michael's body. What was he going to think? How long would it take for him to get the pretend phone call that he had to leave, deliver the we are better as friends line. But it wasn't fair for Michael either. She was just prolonging the inevitable. It would be harder for her to walk away, the longer she let this go on.

"Tell me what? You look like you're about to tell me you're dying or somehting." Sid laughed but suddenly stopped after he noticed Michael wasn't. "Hey, whatever it is, it can't be that bad.

Michael played with Sidney's tie, running her fingers around it, thinking this might be the last part of him she gets to touch. With a sigh, Michael looked at him, putting on her bravest face. "I have this thing I wear on my waist, a lot of people think it's a beeper or some kind of phone or something like that. And most of the time, I don't correct them. I just let them think I am somehow tragically stuck in 1992."

"Yeah, I've seen it. I know it's not a beeper, it's an insulin pump, so what." Sid didn't mean to sound harsh, but he was still waiting for Michael to explain to him what the problem was.

"You saw it? How? I usually keep it hidden." Michael looked confused, she had the preconceived notion that Sid would be like every other guy who found about about her pump, and run for the hills. "How did you know what it was?"

"Yeah, I saw it the night we went skating. I didn't think it was that big of a deal. I go to Children's a lot to visit the kids, I've seen them many times before." It was all starting to make sense to Sid, and he could see Michael's insecurity for the first time. "You thought the moment I found about it, I would run away."

"Yes, "Michael whispered. "Because that's what every other guy has ever done. Every time I show it to someone, they think of Julia Roberts in Steel Magnolias. And don't pretend like you haven't seen that movie." A tear finally emerged, squeezing from the corner of her eye.

"Hey," Sid said, moving Michael's head to look at his. "I'm not every other guy. I'm just me, and that doesn't matter to me." Sidney brushed Michael's tear with his thumb, leaning in to kiss her once more. Michael wasn't as responsive as the last time, and Sid took that as his cue. Most girls would throw themselves at someone like him, even after they were treated like garbage, but not Michael, she was different. Sid realized she must have been hurt one too many times and he would have to gain her trust.

"I'm sorry, it's getting late, and I should just go home." Michael turned wanting to hail the nearest cab, but Sidney stopped her before she could walk away.

"Listen, we don't have to go to dinner, we don't have to do anything. We can just stand her, or we can take a walk. I don't care, I just want to spend time with you, please. " Sidney reached for Michael's hand, making room for his fingers between hers. "Don't be known as the girl that turned down Sidney Crosby." The Cheshire grin returned.

A slow smile started to creep onto Michael's face. "Oh, so we are back to that again." Michael leaned into Sid, laughing. In the comforts of his chest, taking a chance, she agreed to walk with him.

"How long have you been a diabetic for?" Sidney asked, as he pulled Michael in a little closer, letting her know how he felt.

"I was two when my parents found out. I used to control it with my diet, up until three years ago." Michael slowed her walk focusing on the crack in the sidewalk as a way to distract her eyes, not wanting to look into his. " It's funny how doctors preach about diet and exercise, but dancing was causing it to be out of control. I couldn't keep up with it. My body was metabolizing things faster than it was used to. I was checking my levels, sometimes every fifteen minutes while I was dancing. I eventually got really sick and ended up in the hospital."

"Is that when you got the insulin pump?" Sidney asked.

"Yeah, one of the doctors suggested it. He said it was the only way I was going to be able to continue dancing." Michael laughed, shaking her head at the memory of that day. "I threw a major fit, yelling at everyone that I wasn't going to do it. I didn't think I was going to be able to wear it and still perform. Eventually, my mom convinced me that it was the only way."

"But it worked, right. I mean, you are here, I just watched you dance. Were you wearing it tonight?" Sidney asked curiously.

"I was told that I could continue training in Paris, but I would never be hired with the pump being so visible. I accepted that. I thought, well, at least you are still getting to dance, right. There was a woman who worked there that helped me. She told me to audition and tell them I was able to take it off to dance. Then she helped me sew pockets into the costumes. Nobody knew the truth for the longest time, by the time they found out, they didn't care anymore." Michael smiled for the first time, proud of herself.

"So you were wearing it tonight? Where did you hide it?" Sidney stopped Michael to inspect her sides, pulling her in for another kiss.

"That's my little secret," Michael said, kissing him back.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The reflection in the mirror was foggy from the shower. Michael wiped away the condensation with her towel, revealing the naked body from her reflection. Would it come to that tonight? Would the man waiting for her in the living room see her tonight? All of her? Michael wasn't the kind of girl that would sleep with a man on the first date, but the idea of laying beneath Sidney caused a flutter in her stomach. Michael tried to justify her desires by convincing herself that this was kind of like their second date, allowing her whatever path the night would take.

"I'm sorry it took me so long, the stage make-up can sometimes be tricky to take off." Michael stood before Sid, showing off her legs for the first time in a short flowy skirt. She saw his eyes scan her body from top to bottom, and she liked it.

Sidney stood from the couch, taking Michael's hand, kissing her like she had been away from him for too long. "You look gorgeous," he said, as his mouth found hers once more.

Michael didn't care that she was starving, and probably should have eaten something over an hour ago, but the smell of food in the air caused her stomach to let out an embarrassing rumble. "I guess I'm hungrier than I thought."

"I'm sorry, I forgot. You must be starving! When was the last time you ate? Do you need to do something? Check your levels or something?" Sidney went from romance to overprotective in a matter of seconds

"Listen, I'm going to stop you right now. I really like you, but I already have a mother who over obsesses about this. I don't need another one. If we are going to do this, I need you to just forget about it, act like it doesn't exist. I'm a big girl and I can take care of myself, but," Michael smiled again at Sid, "I am starving."

"O.k., I got it, never again, I promise." Sid said, placing his hand over his heart. "The food arrived a few minutes ago, it should still be pretty hot."

The couple sat at the breakfast bar of Michael's kitchen, romantically close on their stools. "Would you like some wine? I think I have a bottle, it's not the best wine, but it's o.k." Michael walked into the kitchen, revealing the wine and two glasses.

"Wine? I didn't think you were old enough to drink. So you are a misdemeanor type of girl." Sidney laughed, "I thought it was the guy who was supposed to get the girl drunk on the first date."

"Tricks of the trade baby, tricks of the trade. I've been getting men drunk since I was sixteen, remember, I'm a Paris type of gal,"Michael said, as she clinked her glass into Sid's.

Dinner and the bottle of wine disappeared before their eyes. "So, do you want to watch a movie?" Sidney gave Michael his boyish grin before wrapping himself around her. "We could watch Steel Magnolias."

Michael laughed, landing her first premeditated kiss on Sidney's lips. She had no intention of spending the night watching a movie. Sidney started a fire inside her that she didn't know existed, and she wanted to fuel it by touching every inch of his body. "Be careful what you wish for, I do own it."

Sidney's lips moved from Michael's mouth to her neck, tasting her body for the first time. His lips moved slowly, allowing the warmth from his breath to cause goosebumps, sending an erotic chill up and down her spine. Michael's clitoris throbbed as Sidney's hand found its way up the back of her shirt, bringing her body into his. Their lips met once again, this time in a feverish rhythm. Michael began to walk backwards, needlessly trapping Sidney's body so he would have to follow her. Michael's bed seemed to exist on the other side of the world. She body could hardly wait to feel the weight of Sidney on top of her.

Sidney pulled Michael's sweater over her head revealing her breasts that seemed swollen with arousal. His large hand ran down her neck and over the cup, cradling her cup in his hand. Michael protested being the only one topless by unbuttoning his his shirt, one by one, forgetting about the tie that still looped his neck. In a frenzy, Sidney ripped the tie from his neck like it was strangling him. He grabbed Micheal's thigh, pulling it around his waist. She could feel the heat from the shaft throbbing in his pants. Sidney's hands found the clasp that held together the barrier between their bodies. He wanted to feel the tips of her chest touching him, the firmness, toying with his body, throbbing in pleasure. Michael let out a moan as he pulled her body from his, allowing her bra to fall to the ground.

Her bed felt firm behind her back as the chill of the room swept over her exposed nipples. Sidney knelt above her body, running his hands up her legs, beneath her skirt. He brought her panties down her thighs, pulling them off of her, still allowing the skirt to cover the prize beween her legs.

Sidney knew Michael wanted him to treat her like he was any other girl, and that's why he hated stopping.

"What's wrong", Michael whispered in desperation, not liking that he stopped.

"I'm sorry, I know this is the last thing you want to talk about, especially now, but," Sidney kissed Michael, wanting to keep her aroused, "I want to take your skirt off, in the worst way. Believe me I do. I just, can I just unclasp it? What do you do with it when you are getting close with someone?"

Michael knew he meant the pump. She had been so distracted by his body that she forgot she was even wearing it. "Oh, she laughed shyly. I've never had to worry about that before." Michael lookedd into Sidney's eyes letting him know she had never slept with a man.

Sidney moaned into Michael's body, loving that he would be her first. "I want to be inside of you so badly."

Michael wrapped her legs around his waist, pushing her wet lips onto his skin. "I can take it off if it isn't going to be that long."

Sidney laughed, " I guess we will have to improvise, I was kind of planning on this taking a while."

"Wait," Michael said, not wanting to get up from his embrace. She hurried over to her closet, finding what she was looking for. In the dark of the corner, Sidney tried to make out what Michael was doing. Slowly she up-zippered he skirt, letting it flow down the curve of her butt, and then to the floor. Michael should have felt nervous, standing infront of him for the first time naked, but her body yearned for his touch. She turned revealing herself to him, showing off the strap around her thigh that held her device. "See, out of the way, now you will have all the time you need."

Sidney couldn't wait for Michael to join him on the bed. She was naked, standing before him, begging for his touch. "That's so hot," he said as he ran his hand down her thigh. "Kind of like Lara Croft."

Michael laughed, giving him her best super hero pose. In the back of her mind, she knew she shouldn't be so open with a man her first time. She should be timid beneath his touch. But Michael didn't feel that way around Sid. He made her feel beautiful and open. "So, have you ever slept with a super hero?"

"Not until tonight." Sidney felt her naked body against his. Her hands found the waist of his pants, quickly undoing the buckle of his belt. Michael's fingers slid between his skin and his waist band, teasing him. "It's not fair you're naked and I'm not," he said.

"It's a good thing you have a super hero to save the day." Michael teased, unfastening the button from his pants. His zipper was the last thing that stood between their bodies. Michael unzipped it, pulling his pants and boxers to the ground. Sid stepped out of the pants, bringing his body closer to hers. His hardness pushed into her, letting Michael know he was ready.

Sidney lifted Michael in the air, tossing her onto the bed. The air in Michael's chest escaped, surprised at the feeling of him on top of her. Michael spread her legs around Sidney's massive thighs, allowing his penis to slide between the outside of her lips. She felt so warm to him, causing him to call out in her ear. The muscles in his body rippled, holding himself over her. Sidney didn't want Michael's first time to be some asshole humping on top of her. He wanted her to remember it. He let his tongue make it's way down her body, working her. Her nipples throbbed between his lips, as he playfully sucked on them. His hand found the inside of her thigh, and traced it to the spot where he so badly wanted to be. She was warm and wet and he loved knowing he did that to her. Sidney slid his long fingers between her folds, toying with her body. Michael had touched herself many times before, but couldn't' help letting him know just how new this was to her by the rapid rising of her chest. Her juices were flowing and Sidney knew it was time to take her.

The tip of Sidney's penis teased as he ran it between Michael's lips until it finally sank deep inside her. He had taken the innocence from the woman that laid under him. Sidney thrust deeper inside her tightness as Michael gripped his shoulders above her. The pressure inside her body was intense and Michael didn't know how react. He felt so good, but with each thrust, it melted her with pain. Michael's breath escaped her, calling out his name. The feeling of her body overcame him, and he realized what he was doing. Sidney slowed his pace, easing her into the massive swelling that was inside her. His rhythm changed. He was no longer just fucking a woman, the only way he knew how to call it. Things changed the moment Michael stepped into his life. He now knew what it felt like to make love.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

The phone rang, tunneling Sidney back into reality. "Shit! What time is it?"

Michael flew off of Sidney's chest, stunned by the abrupt wake up call. She could hear the familiar voice of her father on the other line, asking if Sid was planning on practicing today.

"Yeah, I'm only a few minutes away, Sorry, I slept in, I will be right there." Sidney raced around the room like a cyclone, looking for his clothes. "I'm sorry, I'm just really late, and we are leaving for Florida after practice. Shit!" Sidney said, laughing at himself. "I didn't think I was going to be spending the night, I didn't pack anything for the road trip. I guess I'm wearing this suit for five days."

Michael stayed in bed, covering her breasts with the sheet, watching the man that made love to her the night before ignore her as he ran around her room. She couldn't help but wonder if she was just another one night stand. She imagined Sidney walking out the door, never seeing her again. The thought scared her.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry," Sidney said, planting a kiss on Michael's lips. "I really need to go, I had a really great time last night. I'm going to be gone for five days, can I see you when I get back?" Sidney kissed Michael once more, forcing himself to let her go. "I'll text you on the plane, o.k.?" And with that, he disappeared from Michael's room.

Michael laid in bed, thinking about her night, holding a pillow next to her, pretending it was still Sidney. When she closed her eyes, she could still smell his body on her sheets. This was going to be the longest five days of her life.

In a classic Max Talbot move, Sidney checked in at the gate without luggage. The normally organized Captain bowed his head, accepting the dog howls from the teammates behind him. It was the ultimate walk of shame for a player to arrive for practice in their clothes they wore from the night before. This never happened to Sidney before, so the fact that he was leaving for a road trip without even a toothbrush was enough to send the boys over the edge. Today, Sidney was known by the team as "Got Lucky Boy."

"Who was she?" Marc Andre asked as the plane ascended into the air.

Sidney smiled, "No one you know. Just a girl I met."

"Is it serious?" Fleury asked.

"I don't know," Sidney paused thinking about it. "I just met her, but I think it might be." Sidney looked at his dead phone, wishing he could at least text Michael.

Dan stepped out of the bathroom, making his way down the isle. The taunts became louder and louder as he passed his Captain. "Hope you covered it up," Dan said as he messed up Sid's hair. Sidney's stomach sank at the thought of his coach knowing what he did to his daughter. How could he say anything to anyone about Michael. Dan wasn't stupid. He knew Sid didn't sleep in. There was a look of envy in Dan's eye, remembering his glory days of hockey, women, and booze. Dan felt like it was a rite of passage he was passing on to Sid with wink of his eye. Sid smiled, as his stomach turned inside him.

"Yeah, Sid's got a girl friend," Malkin said, firing the guys up again.

"Fuck you Geno," Sid said. He liked the way that sounded, a girlfriend, but did she have to be the Coach's daughter?

"Oh my God, you slept with him!" Allen burst into Michael's room opening the curtains to let in the light.

"How do you know I slept with him, and please remind me why I gave you a key to my apartment." Michael pulled the covers over her head, reminded by the sun of how much wine she drank the night before. Michael rarely drank alcohol and her tolerance level was low. She had been so daring last night with Sidney. Michael wondered if she really felt that open with him, or had it been the wine talking.

"I saw two glasses and an empty bottle on the counter, not to mention you're naked under there. Michael, you're a woman today!" Allen wasn't sure if he was more excited than her. "Come on, get up, we need to go to lunch. I want details!"

Michael stood up with the blanket wrapped around her body, slamming the bathroom door behind her. She needed a shower to clear her head. Michael was still aroused by the thought of last night, but she was also freaking out about an actual man being interested in her. He wasn't just a man though, he was Sidney Crosby. Her thoughts were interrupted by the door, opening to the bathroom. "Allen, I'm in the shower. You're gay. Aren't you supposed to be afraid of naked women and vagina?"

"Maybe, but you better start spilling the beans before I jump in there with you. " Allen peaked his head inside the shower, causing Michael to jump. "So you did it, right?" Allen knew Michael had been passed over many times by men, and he knew it broke her just a little bit each time. "No offense, but I never thought it was going to happen."

"Thanks Allen, you really know how to make a girl feel special." But Michael knew Allen was right.

"Don't get me wrong " Allen said, " if I liked girls, we would have been fucking years ago. You are the prettiest girl I know, and you are cool as shit, but you intimidate the hell out of guys."

"What do you mean I'm intimidating? How am _I_ intimidating?" Michael said, now irritated with Allen. "Guys find out about my diabetes, and they run away. They use other excuses, but I know that's what it is. They can't handle it."

"No, you use it as an excuse, you have for years." Allen sat on the edge of the counter deciding if he really wanted to have this conversation with Michael. He loved her more than anyone in the world, she was his best friend, but sometimes he needed to shove her into reality. "Guys don't give a shit about you being diabetic, and that pump is the last thing they see on you. I mean for god's sakes, have you looked in the mirror lately? You intimidate them. You always go for the losers because you think you are damaged so you need someone with flaws to balance you out. Then they dump you because you are a ten and they are a four. You are the best in everything you are and do and they can't compete with you. And then you blame that god damn pump and we have to cry about it for the whole entire week."

"I guess I'm not the only one who's intimidating around here." Michael felt the burn from Allen's words. "Maybe you should stick to judging yourself before you judge me."

"Oh Michael, I'm not trying to start a fight, so don't try because you know I will win." Allen took a breath, wishing his friend would see what he saw. "Think about it, why do you think Sidney has been the only guy ever to stick around. Do you think he wants a charity case? No. He stuck around because he is the only guy worthy of you. "

Michael stood silent in the shower, not knowing what to say. She could never win in an argument with Allen.

"Listen, I just don't want to see you blow this. You deserve him," Allen said, " you deserve to be happy."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"She doesn't want to see you, go away asshole!" Allen might have been gay, but he was strong and large.

"Listen to me, please, for just a minute, if you don't like what you hear, I will leave." Sidney kept his weight on the door, held shut by the security chain. "Please!"

Allen glanced at Michael, waiting for her nod. If it had been up to him, the asshole would have been arrested by now.

"Please," Sidney said, one last time, in a defeated tone.

Michael laid on the couch, hiding from the visitor outside. Sidney never called, he never texted. He slept with her and then disappeared. "Fine, let him in before someone calls the Police."

Allen had little patience for any man that hurt Michael, but he always did what she asked. Rolling his eyes in protest, Allen opened the door. Sidney tried not to seem so anxious, but his emotions got the best of him. "I'm sorry!" he said. "I'm sorry I didn't call you, I'm sorry I didn't text you, and I'm sorry I didn't show up at the hospital with you."

"How did you know I was at the hospital?" Michael had prepared a speech for the next time she saw Sidney, but she hadn't prepared for this.

"Your dad, I mean, I heard your dad talking about it. I've been waiting outside for him to leave for over an hour." Sidney turned, running his hand through his hair, knowing he messed up. "I couldn't call you, if you would just listen for sixty seconds, I will explain."

Michael doubted anything he had to say would change things, but she gave him the benefit of the doubt.

"Look," Sidney said, rushing to plead his case. "I left last week so fast, and I feel terrible about that, but I had to go. I didn't have anything packed for the road trip and I was already late for practice."

You were late for practice, so what." Michael debated, "that's your excuse?"

"You don't understand, I didn't have anything with me. My phone died before I even got to the airport, and when I bought a new charger, the phone wouldn't turn on anymore."

"So, does that mean you couldn't use another phone? I mean, I let myself go with you, and this is what I get?"

"I did buy a new phone, but I didn't have your number. It was stored in my old phone, I lost all my contacts, including yours. I tried calling the ballet a couple of times, but they wouldn't give me your number. I even tried telling them who I was, but the woman hung up on me. I thought about stealing your dad's phone, but he never lets it out of his sight, ever."

Michael began to cool down. She had been in a frenzy the last five days thinking she had been played. Sidney calmly avoided Allen, walking over to the couch to sit beside Michael. "I would have asked Dan for your number, but I didn't think you would have wanted me to. Every guy on the team knew what I was doing that night. They knew I slept with someone, which is rare for me. They figured it out and wouldn't let it go. I took it from them for five days straight. I mean, who goes on a road trip without even a pair of underwear." Sidney took Michael's hand, running his fingers between hers. "Please believe me. I would never try to hurt you like that, I swear."

Allen felt a smile twitch from the corner of his mouth. He wanted this for Michael, but he wasn't going to make it easy for Sidney. "Michael, I'm going to leave, but I can stay if you want me to," he said, flashing a look at Sidney.

"No, it's fine Allen, thanks for staying." Michael said as she hugged him goodbye.

"If you need me for anything, just call. And stay off that ankle. I don't want to have to dance with Natasha for that long," Allen said with a shudder. "She's always sexually harassing me. Doesn't she know I'm gay?"

"Your ankle," Sidney said, looking down at the ace bandage wrapped around it. "What happened? Dan said something about you fell and they had you in the E.R., are you O.K.?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Michael said. "I was dropped doing one of the lifts in practice today."

"Allen dropped you?" Sidney asked.

"No, Allen wasn't there. He had to have a root canal." Michael felt irritated even talking about it. "His understudy, Rome, dropped me. The jerk didn't tell anyone his knee was bad. When he lifted me, his knee buckled, and he dropped me."

"So, is your ankle O.K.? Are you O.K.?" Sidney felt the guilt growing inside him.

"Yes, nothings broken, just a sprain. But I hit my side on Rome's leg on the way down." Michael winced in pain, lifting her shirt to reveal the purple bruises that spread up her side. "I cracked a rib."

"So, you trying to be a hockey player, eh?" Sid said, in his thickest Canadian accent.

"I'm thinking a-boot it," Michael laughed, being reminded of the pain radiating from her side. "Ah, have you ever done this before? Cracked your ribs?"

"Not this year," Sid said with a serious expression.

"You mean you do this all the time?" Michael said, thinking she never wanted to have to deal with this again.

"Yeah, we play when they are cracked too." Sidney smiled, he liked having something to impress Michael with. "How long until you can dance again?"

"At least four weeks," Michael said, crinkling her nose. "It sucks."

"Do you have to go to the theater, even if you aren't dancing?" Sidney said, leaning in closer, allowing his lips to stop just beyond hers.

"No," Michael said breathless. It had only been five days since she felt his lips on hers, but the feeling of their mouths being so close was maddening.

"So I will have you all to myself then," he said as he melted his lips into hers. Sidney's kiss was soft this time, slower. He missed the way his lips slid perfectly over hers. Sidney stopped himself, not pulling away from Michael, just releasing his kiss. "I'm not the kind of guy who would sleep with you and then leave. I'm the kind of guy that's going to be here with you every night, taking care of you, waiting for you," Sidney said stealing another taste of her lips.

Michael looked into Sidney's eyes, pulling him towards her body. She had waited five days to feel him again. Michael was begging to be touched , held captive under his strength, but reality set in, setting a bomb off in her side. "God, you would think I wouldn't forget about that so quickly. I feel like I can't breath."

"O.K., enough, I'm stopping. You need to rest." Sidney said, pulling away.

"Stay with me. Don't go." Michael said frantically, embarrassing herself. She didn't want Sidney to leave. She wanted to fall asleep every night in his arms.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said, getting dangerously close again. "But we can't do this, not tonight. You're hurt."

"But stay. We can do something else, anything else." Michael could hardly think of anything else she would rather do besides wrap her legs around Sidney. Michael thought, if he could play hockey with cracked ribs, why couldn't she withstand a little pain just to be with him again.

"What did you have in mind?" Sid said, studying the look on Michael's face. Michael answered with another kiss, this time, ignoring her side that was close to buckling her body beneath her. Sidney gave in just for a moment. He could feel the rigidness in her kiss. Michael was hurting and Sidney knew it. "I'm going to leave if you keep trying that, I'm not kidding! "

"I had to try one more time," Michael said. "Can you blame me?"

"No," Sidney laughed, "but one of us is going to end up having to take a cold shower, and I'm beginning to think it's not going to be me."

"O.K., no more, I promise." Michael said, blatantly crossing her fingers. "We will just watch a movie, I promise."

Sidney laughed, "O.K.,just promise me one thing."

"Anything," Michael said.

"Just not Steel Magnolias, " Sid said. "My mother made me watch that movie a hundred times when I was a kid."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Sidney looked at his phone, laughing at the response to his text. He was excited Michael would be in the stands tomorrow night. She had already made the trip to Montreal with Mary Beth and Bryan. Dan wanted to use Michael's time off as a way to cram in a long weekend family vacation. Dan planned to stay behind, catching up with the team after the weekend was over. Michael mentioned how she wanted to visit the French Canadian cities. Even though she was surprised at how much she was falling in love with Pittsburgh, part of her never left France.

"Is that Em again," Pascal said, winking at his roommate. "You talk to her a lot, sounds serious."

Sidney never corrected his teammates when they assumed "M" was short for Emily or Emma. How could he, it's not like there was a long list of Michaels in his life. Sidney was ready to face the music , but Michael wasn't ready to tell her father just yet. Michael's relationship had been strained with Dan for so long. For the first time, she felt like things between her and her dad were clicking and she didn't want to screw that up.

"Yeah, I think it is," Sidney replied, receiving a fake jab to the gut from his roommate.

"Good," Pascal said, "you need someone to go home to. Bring her to the house for dinner when we get back, I would like to meet her." Pascal was more than just a roommate to Sid, he was more like an older brother. He was a family man, and looked out for the Kid while they were on the road, a time when the younger players liked to live fast.

"I will, soon, I promise." Sid hesitated, wanting so badly to use Pascal as a confessional. "It's just that, it's complicated right now, her dad doesn't know we are together yet."

"What Dad wouldn't want Sidney Crosby dating their daughter," Pascal said laughing.

The Dad that doesn't know he's talking about his daughter when he tells him to wrap it up before he fucks her, Sidney thought.

The fighting began as soon as they checked into the hotel. Michael was sharing the connecting room with Bryan, and the battle for the bathroom was just the tip of the iceberg. The family was meeting the team for dinner that evening and Michael wanted to freshen up. Michael and Bryan quickly assumed the roll of a typical brother and sister, making everything that involved their existence together difficult. Secretly, Michael enjoyed having a brother to argue with. She had been a single child for so long and Bryan was filling another hole in her life. But, Michael didn't put up a fight when Mary Beth folded, letting Bryan sleep on the couch in their room. Michael had the room all to herself, and she couldn't help but think about sneaking Sidney in, in the middle of the night.

The family settled at the end of one of the two rows of tables, pushed together for the team. Normally in a situation like that, Dan would eat with his family at a separate table. But Bryan was so excited about seeing the players, that Dan couldn't help but indulge in his son's excitement. Bryan would be sitting behind the bench with the players tomorrow night, why couldn't he eat with them too.

"Sid," Bryan said, calling his idol over to the table. "I saved you a seat!"

Never wanting to let a young fan down, Sidney took the seat, enjoying the view across from him. Michael beamed, trying not to let her face give her away. She wanted to be able to sit there, openly acknowledging Sidney as a part of her life, but kept telling herself to give it time.

"Do you mind if I sit her," a voice said in a thick french accent.

"Yeah sure, that's fine," Michael said, looking at the man towering above her.

"You're Dan's daughter, Michael," he said taking her hand. "I'm Pascal."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you," Michael said.

"Do you know Sid?" Pascal said, gesturing towards his dinner partner.

"Yeah, hi, we met a few weeks ago when I had dinner at the Lemieux's." A surge of anxiety rushed through Michael's body. She was sure she blushed when he said Sid's name. Michael tried to turn her attention to anything but Sidney, speaking most of the night to Pascal, in French. The satisfaction of speaking freely in what had become, for a time, a more natural language, made Michael an attraction at the table. The French Canadians rearranged their chairs, letting themselves into the secret club. Michael loved the fact that her dad had no idea what she was saying, but wished Sid was apart of the group. She knew he spoke some French, but that didn't matter, Bryan consumed his attention the entire meal.

Dinner arrived, dispersing the group to their respective seats. A smile crept over Michael's face as she felt a foot sliding up her leg. Their eyes met, giving the appearance of a secret language between the two lovers. It was a look, that if anyone had been paying attention, would have given away their secret. But someone was watching, someone who knew Sid as well as anyone else, someone who could read his line mate like a book. A light bulb came on, and all the things Sidney had said seemed to connect. It all made sense to Pascal, Em wasn't short for anything. "M" stood for Michael. And the father that didn't know about Sid was Dan. Sid looked at Pascal, understanding the gesture in his eyes. Pascal knew, and Sid had to wonder how much longer it would be before everyone else found out.

Sidney twirled the key to Michael's room in his hand. Nobody noticed Michael placing it on the table at dinner before she got up to leave. He had to wonder if the length they were going through to hide their relationship was really worth it, but at the same time, it did excite him. The hall to her room was clear, but if Dan appeared, he wasn't sure what excuse he would give as to why he was on his floor. Michael sent Sid a text, letting him know that she was alone in her room and he took that as an open invitation.

"We have to be quiet," Michael said, gesturing to the adjoining door in her room. "My dad is next door."

The thrill of sneaking around excited the couple, causing them to skip over any kind of hello, going straight for the bed. Sidney tore Michael's close off, barley getting his own pants down before he entered her. She struggled to get Sid's shirt over his head, not wanting to separate his lips from her body. Sidney removed her clothes with such authority, causing his body to feel warmer than usual from the abrupt change in her body temperature. He felt so good grinding on top of her, filling her with his thick shaft. Sid took her hard and fast, but he never seemed to loose the passion he had for Michael. No matter how he touched her, it always felt personal.

Their bodies froze, as a knock came from the connecting door.

"Michael," Dan said, calling from the other room, "can I come in?"

Sidney's eyes we huge as Michael mouthed the words "Hide!"

"Hello," Dan yelled, knocking on the door a second time.

"Hold on Dad, I'm getting dressed," Michael said, frantically kicking Sidney's clothes under the bed.

"I kind of needed those to leave," Sid said, gesturing to his naked body.

"Sorry," Michael whispered frantically. "I don't know, hide in the bathroom! Quick!"

Michael's heart was pounding as she pulled her pajama pants back on. She took a deep breath, slowly opening the door to her father's room.

"Is everything alright in there?" Dan said, looking at his obviously stunned daughter.

"Yeah, I just, I was trying to get dressed so I could answer the door, and I tripped over my shoe. It just, it startled me." Michael's eyes tried to avoid the room that contained a very naked man as it's existence burnt through her.

"Listen, can we talk for a minute?" Dan said, taking a seat on Michael's bed.

"Sure, what's up," Michael said, trying to control her breathing.

"I feel like this distance between us is my fault." Dan said.'

"No Dad, it's," Michael said as she was interrupted.

"Let me finish." Dan placed his hand on Michael's arm. "I feel like we aren't as close as I am with Bryan, and I take responsibility for that. But I want to change that. " Dan paused, looking at his daughter. "I know I can be harder on you, and over protective sometimes."

Michael gave out a nervous laugh.

"But," Dan said, "I'm working on that. I just want you to know how proud of you I really am and with you being here, I am truly the luckiest man on this planet. You gave up a lot to move to Pittsburgh, I know. Your Mother reminds me of that every time I talk to her."

"Dad," Michael said, "I didn't give up anything. I chose to do that. I wanted to be closer to you, I wanted to know Bryan. I'm really happy here. "

"Good." Dan paused, "But I still feel like I spend more time with Bryan, so I am going to work on that when we get back. But in the mean time, I was really impressed with how you handled yourself at dinner. I know I can be a typical Dad when it comes to you being around hockey players.

"Dad," Michael said embarrassed.

"No, listen." Dan looked at Michael, serious with what he was trying to say. " I intentionally block you from that part of my life because I'm trying to shelter you from it. The life isn't easy, especially for the family on the other end. I just don't want what happened to your mother to happen to you."

"Dad, I'm not my mother, I've never been anything like her a day in my life," Michael said, standing up.

"I know that, but still, I don't want that for you." Dan stood, looking out the window. "I see how they look at you, I know what they are thinking. You are a beautiful woman, and that's hard for me to say. I let my little girl grow up and I wasn't around to see it."

"But that's my choice, not your," Michael said defiantly.

"I know I am stepping in where you don't think I belong, but I do. I am still your father, I just need you to give me time to realize that you are grown up." Dan moved towards his daughter, touching her shoulders, trying to make Michael realize he wasn't trying to start a fight with her. "Hockey is a major part of my life, and I can't keep blocking you from it. If I keep doing that, there isn't much left for you. So with that, I want you to sit with Bryan behind the bench tomorrow. I want the two most important people in my life to be with me out there."

"Dad," Michael said, trying not to let her emotions choke her. Dan hugged his daughter, and for the first time, Michael let herself hug him back.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Pascal's eyes opened to the sounds of the door unlocking. It was 3:30 in the morning, but he hadn't been to sleep yet. His mind was running through the events of the night, waiting for Sid to return.

"It had to be the Coach's daughter?" Pascal said to the figure in the dark.

"Sorry," Sid said, still trying to tip toe through the blackened room. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"You can have any girl in the world, and you chose Dan's daughter." Pascal flipped on the lights, squinting from the glare.

"It's not like I did this on purpose, it's Nathalie's fault." Sid collapsed on his bed, covering his eyes from the interrogation beside him. "She made me take Michael out, I didn't think Michael even liked me. I thought she hated me. It just happened."

"And now?" Pascal said, raising his eyebrow.

"And now, I think I'm falling for her, hard." Sidney's stomach turned, but in a good way, like he was on a roller coaster. He'd never said out loud how he really felt about Michael. He liked it.

"And that is who you were with all night?" Pascal said, walking to the bathroom without even shutting the door. "You're going to get caught. Not telling Dan will make it worse when he finds out, and he will find out. You need to tell him."

"I know, I know," Sid said, frustrated with the situation. "It's not like I meant to hide this from him. We didn't say anything at first because everyone knew I slept with someone before the road trip. I didn't think it was a good idea to tell Dan I was dating his daughter after that."

"Yeah, that's a problem. It's been a while, maybe he won't think it was her." Pascal shook his head. "No, either he's going to know that was her, or he's going to think you slept with some random woman and then decided to date his daughter. Pretty much, you're screwed either way. You need to tell him."

"It's not me that wants to wait," Sid said, climbing under his covers. "She's afraid to tell him. I guess Dan really doesn't want Michael dating _any_ of us."

"It's a little late for that," Pascal laughed, flipping off the lights.

"I guess so." Sidney laid in bed, halfway thinking about what Pascal said, the other half remembering the last few hours he spent with Michael. Sidney made love to her again, this time slowly, quietly, making sure he did it right. They whispered under the covers for hours, laughing, curling in each others bodies. Sidney waited for Michael to fall asleep in his arms before he pulled away from her toxic grasp, hating that he had to return to his room.

* * *

><p>Michael stood outside the locker room, waiting for the team to emerge. Bryan left her stranded by herself after Malkin invited him in. But to his credit, Malkin invited Michael in as well. As tempting as it was, Michael declined, leaving herself feeling out of place in the hall.<p>

"Nice sweater," Sid said, pulling at the sleeve of Michael's jersey.

Michael turned to see Sidney in full gear for the first time close up. "Did you expect any other number on the back?" Michael smiled, proudly sporting her man's jersey. "Don't worry though, I won't ask you for your autograph. "

Sidney laughed, grabbing Michael by the front of her jersey. "Everyone's dressed. Your dad said you can come in if you want. But first, I want a good luck kiss."

"Here?" Michael said, looking up and down the hall. "What if someone sees us?"

"Then they see us." Sidney said, moving closer to Michael's body. His massive presence dominated Michael's every thought, allowing Sidney to steal her ambitions. He lowered himself to meet her lips, drinking reality from her mind. When he was finished, Sidney laughed at the dazed look in Michael's eyes. "When you pull yourself together, come on in."

Michael watched Sidney disappear through the locker room door, realizing she wasn't the only person in the hall. A few stunned bystanders looked on as Michael blushed from the heat. "I entered a contest. Win a kiss with Sidney Crosby, I won," Michael said, giving them the thumbs up. Without looking back, Michael darted through the locker room doors, flashing the stink eye at Sidney who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Michael, when did you buy a jersey?" Dan said, greeting his daughter.

"Oh I didn't," Michael said, lying to her father. "I borrowed it from one of my friends at the ballet. I didn't think the coach's daughter should go to a game without wearing one." Michael didn't want her dad to know she purposely picked that jersey for one specific reason, it was her boyfriend's number.

"Oh, you're right, you should have one." Dan said. " Remind me and I will get you one. We could put Bylsma on the back with double zeros."

"Dad, please. If you do that, this will be the last game I ever attend," Michael said rolling her eyes.

"Hey, you were in France during the awkward teenage years," Dan said, taking the rolled up paper in his hand, smacking his daughter on the arm. "I never got a chance to embarrass you back then."

Dan walked to the head of the make-shift locker room reminding his team that his kids would be behind the bench and to try to keep it clean out there. Michael blushed as the locker room roared with laughter. She was older than some of the guys on the team but somehow Michael still felt like a child.

"Hey Dan-o," Pascal yelled out, "did you bring your own swear jar?"

"Very funny Duper." Dan continued, leading the team with his pre-game speech. Michael felt a little pride watching her dad work. Everyone always liked Dan. He had an energy about him that could get people excited about anything. Michael heard this about her father from more than one person, but she never saw it before. Maybe that was because she never looked, but tonight, she found it."

The game was physical. There had been bad blood between some of the players on the teams, and it showed on the ice. Hits were hard and blood was flying. The game was definitely different on the front lines than it was on TV. Bryan was glued to Dan's hip, in on every play. Michael sat in the corner, with her eyes locked on the ice. She didn't understand the technical version of hockey. She knew how to watch it, and what the rules were, but she didn't anticipate plays or count points. What she liked about it was it's physicality. Michael let the excitement of the game take over, dishing it out worse than a sailor. It excited her when she saw Cookie beating the winger to the ground.

"Did you like that," Sidney said, turning to Michael .

Michael smiled at Sid, red as usual. "Maybe."

Sid's line jumped from the bench, skating another shift. Jabs were being thrown, especially at 87. Sidney skated past the bench, winking at Michael before taking his gloves off. Michael couldn't believe her eyes, as she watched Sid engage in a fight. The Captain never fought, that wasn't his game. It was like the punch to his face enraged him more, delivering blow after blow to his opponent. Sid was cut, but not as bad as the other guy. Michael watched him make his way to the penalty box, smiling the whole way there. He fought for his woman, and he knew he would be rewarded that night.

* * *

><p>The team stayed in Montreal until the next morning. It was unusual not to fly out the night of the game, but the Pens had a two day window before their next away game, giving the players a rest. Sidney counted his luck as he slid his extra key into Michael's door.<p>

"Your lip, it's cut, and your eye!" Michael said, inspecting the damage.

The injuries were normal to Sid, but he never let on. He liked the attention Michael gave him. "I'm O.K., you should see the other guy." Sid laughed, going in for a kiss.

"No, really, do you need some ice?" Michael was frantic, inspecting Sid from top to bottom.

"Michael," Sid said, stopping her. "This is normal. I sometimes look like this after a game."

"Really? You look like you got into a fight and lost," Michael said, eyeing his injuries.

"But I didn't, I won, and I did it for you." Sidney liked feeling masculine around Michael.

"I never asked you to fight," Michael said, unbuttoning Sidney's shirt.

"I never thought you did." Sidney said, lowering his head to hers. "You were so excited watching the other guys fight, maybe I wanted to do that to you too. And besides, that guy was pissing me off!"

"You don't have to punch some guy to impress me," Michael said, unbuttoning Sid's shirt. Her eyes were huge as she revealed the bruises on his chest. "Look at you! Are you hurt?"

"This, no, they are only bruises." Sidney removed his shirt, revealing even more black and blue marks.

"Does it hurt?" Michael said as her hand slid down Sidney's chest.

Sidney took Michael in his arms, bringing her mouth to his, "Not right now," he said, giving Michael a look, prepairing her for what he was going to do next. The wounded warrior grabbed his prize, launching her underneath him on the bed. Sidney felt a little barbaric after winning in battle, only to reward himself with his woman. He didn't understand why it felt so good displaying his strength to Michael. He wasn't the type of guy that ran around, showing off his muscles. Michael liked it when he did, his strength made her feel safe, and she always spred her legs for it.

Sidney sank deeper into Michael as the sweat dripped off his chest. Their bodies moistened the sheets in the heat of their passion. Sidney felt like he needed to climb inside of her, pulling himself closer between Michael's legs. Michael's head began to feel drunk, as the warmth crept over her body. Her arms began to tremble and her legs tightened around Sidney's waist. She never felt like this before. Her body began to take control, leaving her mind in a fog of pleasure. The air was running faster, in and out of her body, escaping with noises she couldn't control. Sidney forced himself to hold out just a little longer. He knew what was happening inside of Michael, and he wanted to be able to give her that. Michael burried her face in the flexing chest above her, trying to muffle the sounds of ecstasy that overcame her. Her cries set him off, and Sidney couldn't hold back any longer. He released himself inside of Michael, falling limp over her body. They laid in the dark, in silence, holding each other. Michael's body was still reacting, still experiencing the explosion that went through her body. Michael felt like she wanted to cry, but not out of sadness. Sidney left her emotions confused, not understanding what he just did to her. She never felt like this towards anyone before, and she never had a man touch her like that before.

Sidney raised his body, looking into Michael's eyes. Neither one of them spoke. He stared into her eyes, not wanting to move from that spot for the rest of his life. "I love you."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Michael stepped off the bus, checking her phone one last time, hoping to see a message from Sid. She new the team arrived in Pittsburgh late the night before, but she hadn't heard from him yet. Michael wished Sidney had been home yesterday when she got the news, clearing her to practice. She knew Sidney would have celebrated with her, made love to her, slept with his arms around her. Sidney's absence had been the longest six days of Michael's life. It would have been easier dealing with the away games if she had been performing, having something to occupy her time with. Her injuries left her with nothing better to do than to pester Allen.

"Hey," a voice said, emerging from the shadows of the entrance to the ballet.

Startled, Michael looked over, seeing the far too familiar lips hiding beneath the bill of his cap.

"Sidney!" Michael said, running into his arms. Michael planted a kiss on Sidney's lips like he was a sailor, returning from months at sea.

"I missed you," Sid said, lifting a bouquet of flowers from behind his back.

"What are you doing here?" Michael let go, long enough to look at her flowers.

"I wanted to see you, maybe even stay and watch you dance, take you out to lunch after to celebrate," Sidney paused, "if that's OK with you."

"You want to watch me practice?" Michael laughed," you better watch out, you're going to start getting the reputation of a ballet lover."

"Or a Michael lover," Sidney said, grinning at the words he never tired of saying.

Michael leaned in, breathing an "I love you too" before stealing one more kiss. "You are making me disgustingly happy," Michael said seriously. "We are becoming that couple that grosses people out."

"I don't care," Sidney said, grabbing his girlfriend's hand as they walked into the building.

"You know," Michael said, "I'm not going to be dancing anything spectacular today, its just going to be Allen and I messing around, nothing rehearsed."

"I don't care," Sid said, twirling Michael under his arm like the ballerina she was, "I just missed you. I wanted to spend the day with you."

* * *

><p>Sidney watched, as Michael stretched on the bar with Allen. Seeing Michael in a skin tight ballet outfit never turned out that well for Sidney. At least he was wearing jeans this time, unlike the shorts that hardly hid his penis while it was soft. Michael took her i-pod, plugging it into the speakers, sliding the play list until it randomly stopped on it's own.<p>

Allen rolled his eyes at Michael, "You're not doing this again, are you?" Allen folded his arms in protest.

"It's my practice," Michael said, grabbing the sides of her dance partner. "I can do what I want with it.

The music started, echoing the Black Eyed Peas throughout the room. Sidney had a puzzled look on his face, watching the couple dance ballet to the non-classical music.

"It's not what you were expecting, is it," a man said, extending his arm to Sid. "I'm sorry, Jonathan d'uvalle, I'm the director of the ballet."

"Sidney Crosby," Sid said, shaking his hand. "No, not at all. I thought ballet was normally danced to classical music."

"It is, unless you're Michael." Jonathan laughed, "Michael used to be one of my students in Paris, she's been doing that to Allen for years."

Sidney watched as Michael and Allen moved in unison with each others bodies. "This wasn't rehearsed? " Sidney said, shocked. Sidney didn't know anything about dancing, but he knew what he was watching was special.

"No, they are showing off. They've danced together for so long, that they can anticipate what the other is going to do. Not a lot of dance partners can do that." Jonathan watched the unconventional ballet, interpreting the dance for Sidney. "Watch Michael's feet, how quickly they move, perfectly below her body. That's why she's one of the best in the world." Jonathan laughed watching the expression on Allen's face as the play list shuffled to the Foo Fighter's There goes my Hero. "Well, I was just checking on our girl to see how she was feeling today. She looks good. If you will excuse me, I have other things I need to be doing, it was nice to meet you Sidney."

* * *

><p>"You were amazing," Sidney said as they walked down the hallway to the corridor. " I mean, how do you even do that?"<p>

Michael could feel the room tunneling around her. Everything was starting to look fuzzy. She knew something was wrong, but she couldn't wrap her mind around it.

"Why don't you wait here while I get my car," Sidney said, "I will just be a minute. It's freezing outside and you still look sweaty."

"What, " Michael said, sounding confused. "OK."

Michael closed her eyes, trying to snap out of the fog. She knew Sidney was talking, but she couldn't hear what he was saying. It was irritating her. "Why don't you ever speak up, I can't fucking hear you, you're always mumbling." Michael took a deep breath, trying to steady her hands. The sweat was pouring down her face despite the chill from the doors, opening and closing at the entrance.

"Michael, are you OK?" Sidney said, grabbing her arms to steady her.

"Yeah, I'm fine, " Michael snapped, jerking her arms from Sid's, "why wouldn't I be?"

"You're shaking!" Sidney said, trying to move Michael to the bench to sit down.

"Don't fucking touch me!" Michael yelled, ripping her hands from Sidney's, slapping him in the face. "Leave me alone!" Michael exploded, trying to run away from Sidney, knocking into the man walking by. "I said to leave me the fuck alone!" Enraged, Michael started grabbing the man, swinging at any person trying to step in to help. She was crazed, attacking everything in her path. Michael felt her face hit the ground, as a security guard knocked her down, restraining her with his knee. "Why are you doing this to me?" Michael cried, thrashing like a wild animal.

"She's a diabetic. She's a fucking diabetic!" Allen yelled, running into the corridor. "Get the hell off of her, she not crazy, she's a diabetic!" Allen pushed the security guard off of Michael, glaring at him with a look to back off. Allen read Michael's pump, confirming what he already knew. "Shit, you didn't eat, did you."

"Leave me alone Allen," Michael said with tear stained mascara running down her face. "Go away."

"You know I won't, " Allen said, stopping Michael's hand before it crossed his face. "I need some juice, can someone get me some juice?" One of the dancers remarked to Allen that there wasn't a juice machine in the building. "Then get me a Coke, some fucking pop, anything with sugar in it. She's hypoglycemic!"

"Here, a lady said, handing over her fresh bottle.

Allen took the Coke without acknowledging its owner. "You need to drink this Michael, take it."

Michael flew further out of control, batting the bottle from Allen's hand, punching him in the face as he tried to stop it from spilling. "Why are you doing this to me!" Michael screamed, like an out of control toddler.

"Sidney, grab her arms for me," Allen said wiping the blood from his lip. "Michael, listen to me, I will leave you alone if you drink this. Just take a few sips." Allen placed the bottle on Michael's mouth, trying to fill it with the Coke, only to have her spit it back in his face. "Why are you making me do this the hard way, you know I hate to do this to you." Allen grabbed Michael in a make-shift headlock, water boarding the Coke into her mouth, forcing her to swallow. "OK Mike, its OK, lets give this a second to get in you before we drink some more."

Sidney released Michael's arms, backing into the crowd, watching the spectacle with the rest of the onlookers.

Allen controlled the situation, proving it wasn't his first time. "Can you take another drink for me?"

"Yes," Michael said, whimpering her words.

Allen pulled his shirt up. Wiping the black from under her eyes. "Do you think you want you sit on the bench?"

Michael shook her head, leaning into Allen as she sat on the floor in his arms. Michael's cries became louder, muffled by Allen's chest. Allen treated the situation like the room was empty, talking to Michael within their embrace. "Sidney, pull your car around," Allen diverted his attention from Michael for only that moment, " I need to take her home."

* * *

><p>Allen walked from Michael's room, closing the door partially behind him. He saw the look on Sidney's face, one he recognized far too well. "She's sleeping," Allen paused, grabbing a bottle of water. Allen took a deep breath like he just finished talking someone off a ledge. "She didn't prepare you for that, did she."<p>

"No," Sidney said quietly. "She doesn't like to talk about it."

"Yeah, she wouldn't would she." Allen showed his anger towards the situation. "You need to know what to do when that happens again, and it will. That is, if you still plan on sticking around, because that, what you saw today, wasn't as bad as it has been before. She should have prepared you for that."

"I'm not going to lie to you and pretend that I'm not a little freaked out, but I'm not going anywhere," Sidney said.

"If there is any doubt, anything lingering in your mind, leave now," Allen said looking Sidney in the eyes. "It will destroy her, but not as bad as if you wait until later."

"I'm not leaving," Sidney said, returning the eye contact.

"Did it scare you?" Allen said, taking another drink.

"Yeah, it did." Sidney said, lowering his head remembering how useless he felt earlier.

"Good, because that was just the beginning of it," Allen said, shaking his head. "She should have told you about all of this, I mean, it's not my place, but you need to know. Being with her, it's like a full time job, you never go a day without wondering if _that_ will happen again. It's a lot better since she got the insulin pump, but, obviously, it's not perfect."

"Nothing is," Sidney said, trying to convince Allen he wasn't going anywhere.

"Yeah, well, there are things you don't know. She can't drive, for instance. She tells people she never bothered getting her license because she was in Paris when she was sixteen. It's true, you can get around on the subway, but honestly, they would never give her one. She's too unpredictable." Allen paused, " Babies, if this should ever come to that, she can have them, but it will be hard on her body, maybe too hard. Her kidneys are always at risk, one more major attack could destroy them. And then you always have to worry about finding her, not knowing how long she was down. I found her three years ago, and every time I come over, it crosses my mind that it might have happened again."

"What happens if no one is around?" Sid asked.

"You have to hope you find her in time." Allen stared off into the distance, remembering that day three years ago.

"And that's why you call her so many times a day," Sidney said, "especially in the morning."

Allen shook his head, flashing Sid a grin, "And you thought maybe I was just an irritating friend that called too much."

"Yeah, " Sidney laughed.

"Michael's a creature of habit. She wakes up at the same time every day, she eats at the same time everyday, and she eats the same thing everyday. She's found the more she controls about her body, the easier it is to maintain herself. That's why she probably had an attack today, she hasn't danced in over a month and she didn't eat. Her tells are pretty easy though, she gets confused and mean, sometimes violent, and she can hit when she's like that."

Allen stood against the wall, knowing Michael would hate him for what he was telling Sid, but he didn't really see a reason to hide any of it after earlier. "Did Michael ever tell you how good she really is, at ballet?"

"Uh, what do you mean," Sid said, confused. "I mean, I know she went to Juilliard and then studied in Paris, but that's about it."

Allen sighed, "Michael's ranked as one of the top _three_ ballet dancers in the world, not the country, the world. Argued by some as the best. "

"No offense," Sid said, trying to wrap his head around the conversation," then why is she dancing in Pittsburgh? I mean, she said it was a good Company, but, why wouldn't she stay in Paris then?"

"Exactly," Allen said, happy Sidney had the presence to realize that. "It's because she's blacklisted within the community. I know she told you about how they wouldn't let her perform at first, because you could see the pump. But she lied and hid it anyways. When the director finally figured it out, they looked the other way because it was Michael. Any other dancer would have been done, but not her. People traveled from all over to see her. They still do."

"But," Sid said, knowing there was more to the story.

"But," Allen continued, " last year she had an attack on stage, similar to what you saw today. She stopped dancing in the middle of the performance. Her partner tried to get her off the stage and she punched him." Allen laughed, " She knocked him out cold. I was already in Pittsburgh when that happened, so I didn't see it. I kept thinking, if I was still there, I could have stopped it. I would have seen it happening to her. The Conservatory banned her from ever performing again. The rest of the world seemed to feel the same way. They said she was too much of a liability and they couldn't have dancers attacking other dancers on stage. They had a reputation to uphold."

"So why did Pittsburgh take her?" Sid asked.

"They didn't at first. I don't know if it was because of who Mike's grandmother was, or because who Michael is, but Paris offered her a job first. They weren't naive to realize what they had with her. They offered her a job as a choreographer and an instructor. Michael would have easily been making over six figures to start, which is a lot for an eighteen year old. But, the man you met today, Jonathan d'uvalle, he was hired as the Director in Pittsburgh. Jonathan had been one of Michael's instructors for four years. He fought for her, thinking Paris was wrong, eventually leaving out of disgust. He took the job in Pittsburgh, offering Michael a lead dancing position, no audition necessary."

"So everything worked out for her then, she gets to dance and see her dad at the same time," Sidney said, optimistic.

"No, her grandmother pushed her hard to take the job in Paris. It crushed Michael what they did to her, but she knew it was a legitimate peace offering. But, Michael's not made to be locked in a practice room, that's like caging a wild animal. Michael was born for the stage. She didn't take the job. She lied to her family and Paris, telling them she wanted the job in Pittsburgh to be closer to her dad. I mean, I think she likes having him around now, but that was a microscopic reason she gave to everyone, including herself, as to why she chose Pittsburgh."

"And now," Sidney asked, "are they OK with it now, with her being here?"

"No," Allen said, tossing his bottle in the trash. "Michael's grandmother was more like a mother to her. She hasn't spoken to Michael since she turned Paris down."

"And her mother?" Sidney asked.

"Jacquelyn," Allen laughed. "She doesn't care. She never got along with Michael's grandmother anyways. It probably made Michael's mother happy that she went against her grandmother for the first time in her life. Michael said her mom was eighteen when she ran away with her dad, getting pregnant a month later. Her parents got married, but it only lasted for a little while. Jacquelyn couldn't handle the life, being alone all the time with a baby while Dan was off in a different city every week playing hockey. After they divorced, Jacquelyn moved back to New York with her parents, basically allowing Michael's grandmother to raise her. Michael doesn't hear from her mother a lot. Jacquelyn was always off with a different boyfriend when Michael was younger. Now she's married to this lawyer that Michael has met like once before."

"So right now, Dan is all she has," Sidney said, realizing why Michael had been treating their relationship like a secret for so long.

"Yep, and she thinks Dan will cut out of his life when he finds out about the two of you." Allen brushed his hand over his hair, knowing he said too much, but happy he laid it all out for Sidney. Allen wanted to know if he was truly the guy Michael said he was. He wanted to make sure Sidney would take care of her. "Listen, Mike's going to be pretty upset when she wakes up. She knows what she did, she knows she hit you. She sinks into a depression after this happens, so, just be prepared for it."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

"I'm not avoiding you," Michael said over the phone, closing the door to the spare bedroom. "I'm hiding out."

"Isn't that the same thing as avoiding me?" Sidney said.

"No, if I was avoiding you, I wouldn't care about being around other people, I just wouldn't want to see you." Michael had been staying with her father for the past couple of days, avoiding the world. The man Michael struck during her attack filed charges, and for the first time, Dan was stepping up for his daughter.

"What did the Prosecutor say?" Sidney's stomach dropped. He was sure the news would be bad.

"We are meeting with him tomorrow," Michael said, letting her annoyance with the situation overcome her.

"So what does that mean? Will you have to go to court?" Sidney asked, more quickly than he should have. In the back of his mind, court was the last thing Sidney wanted to go through. He witnessed the whole attack, he even stepped in to restrain Michael, but his name in the papers linked to this was the last thing he wanted. Sidney didn't feel like they had done anything wrong, he was just familiar with how something printed in black and white could take on a color of it's own.

"Don't worry, your name wasn't mentioned. My dad is still clueless that you were even there." Cynical, Michael laughed at the simplicity of the situation. "You know, you could probably walk anywhere in this city, only to have a mob of people bombard you. All you have to do is take one step into my world, and suddenly you are a nobody, just another face in the crowd."

Sidney smiled on the other end, knowing she was right. "I think you like that."

"I kind of do. It makes me think what we are doing is normal, like everyone else." Michael laughed sarcastically, knowing nothing about this was normal.

"It would be normal if I could see you right now. If we didn't have to hide this anymore," Sidney said with a tone. "What are we doing anyways?"

"I told you," Michael said, backing down a little, "not yet. It's not a good time. I just don't want to screw things up."

"Is that how you think of me," Sidney said, more defensive than before,"that I will just screw things up for you?"

"Come on Sid, you know what I mean. My dad and I are finally getting along, and now he has to deal with this," Michael said, trailing in the conversation.

"You know," Sidney said interrupting, "don't bother calling me again until you decide to grow up. I'm tired of this. You won't see me, you won't acknowledge me to your family, you've been walking around feeling sorry for yourself long enough. I'm done with this."

"Sid, wait," Michael said with little effort, but the line went dead despite. Michael laid on the bed, in the dark, not caring about what happened. Paris had haunted her for the past year, and now, she felt like it had followed her all the way to Pittsburgh.

* * *

><p>The driver was late, causing Michael to be the last to arrive. For the first time in her life, Michael wished her dad would have driven her. Then, at least, she wouldn't have to arrive alone. The woman in the lobby directed Michael to the fourth floor where the rest of the team would be. It was Penguins day at the Children's Hospital and the whole team would be there, including Sidney.<p>

There was still a bit of a sting to the day, knowing she had been forced into it. The Prosecutor agreed to drop all charges in exchange for community service. Michael's Lawyer said it was the courts way of appeasing the man that Michael attacked. Although everyone agreed that Michael couldn't control her actions at the time, Dan told her to suck it up and be thankful that was all she received. They made a deal, expunging the charges if she would fulfill two months of community service, teaching ballet at the city rec center. Michael was also to join the team with an appearance at the hospital, talking to the kids about what it's like to have a disability. Michael acted like a baby about the whole thing. She wasn't mad that she had to help kids, she was made that she was being punished, once again, for something she had little control over. Michael felt like her life had been an uphill battle, trying to do the things she wanted to do. But each time she turned around, someone was taking something else away from her.

Deep down, Michael wanted to cry. She watched Sidney walk in and out of each room, with a constant smile on his face. They hadn't spoke in over a week, something that had Michael spending her nights, crying into a pillow. She knew this had been her fault, but didn't know how to fix it.

"Were you even going to say hello?" Sidney said, quietly approaching Michael from behind.

"I didn't think you wanted to speak to me." Michael said, avoiding his warm brown eyes.

"I don't," Sidney said, brushing his elbow against Michael's. "Not unless it's with the Michael I know, I miss her."

"I don't know if she's ready to come out yet," Michael said quietly, still avoiding Sidney's stare.

"You don't get it yet, do you," Sidney said angrily.

"Please, can we not do this now?" Michael said, trying not to raise her voice. " I mean, I don't even know what I am doing here. Nobody could care less who I am. How am I supposed to make anyone feel better?"

"I've had enough of this," Sidney said, grabbing Michael's arm, pulling her down the hall. "Come with me, there is someone I want you to meet." Sidney pulled Michael through the doors, ignoring her protest the entire way. "Stay."

Sidney greeted the nurses on a first name bases, acknowledging each like an old friend. Michael watched as his charm naturally won over each smile in the room. She missed that about him.

"Let's go," Sidney said, once again, grabbing Michael, pulling her towards the children's lounge. "There is somebody I want you to meet."

The lounge was full of doting parents, eagerly awaiting their favorite Penguin to grace their child. Sidney passed each family, smiling, walking directly for the girl on the couch. She wasn't as young as the other kids, maybe fifteen or sixteen, but had been obviously sick non the same.

"Michael," Sidney said, making his introductions, "This is Madison. Madison is a swimmer who had to quit her school's team last year because she needed a new Kidney, she's a severe diabetic. Madison, this is Michael. She is a world class ballerina who has danced in New York and Paris. She is also a diabetic."

"Sid," Madison said, comfortable with her idol, "It sounds like you are trying to set us up on a date. I thought I was your girl." Madison smiled beneath the comforts of her quilt.

"You will always be my girl," Sid said, sitting next to Madison on the couch. I just thought the two of you have a lot in common, more than you think," Sidney said, gazing at Michael. "So you finally got your new Kidney! That's great. How soon until you are back in the water? "

"I don't know, maybe never. " Madison looked down, hiding her face.

Michael looked stunned, taking a seat on the other side of Madison. Immediately, Michael's fire took over, preaching to Madison that she shouldn't let something so simple as being a diabetic keep her from doing what she loved. A crowd began to form around the trio as Michael began telling her story about how she was constantly having to fight for her dream. Michael looked around at all the faces staring back at her, listening intently, thinking for just that moment that they too could accomplish anything. Michael hadn't intended on opening up the way she did, but her audience inspired her.

"So, you aren't allowed to dance in Paris anymore?" one of the girls asked as more kids decided to join the crowd.

"Kind of," Michael said. "I can dance where ever I want to, it's just , not a lot of ballet companies will actually hire me."

"That's so unfair," another girl said.

"No, it's not fair," Michael said tilting her head with a smile, "but, I still wake up everyday, getting to do exactly what I've always wanted to do. So I guess I won after all."

Michael noticed Sidney staring at her with a smile on his face. Michael blushed, returning the look, mouthing the words "thank you." Sidney couldn't take his eyes off the girl he thought he had lost.

"So," another teenage girl said, beginning with the real questions, "what do you do at the beach? I mean, because you can't show your stomach?"

"What are you talking about, " Michael said confidently. "I rock the bikini."

"You're not afraid to show your stomach?" the teenager said. "Even with the cannula showing? How do you cover it up?"

"Nope , I just snap it to the side of the bottoms. It's actually easier than wearing a two piece. And no, I don't cover it up. If that's all people see about me, then they aren't worth my time," Michael said, smiling at Sidney. "Someone I care about very deeply taught me that."

"Do you take it off to dance?" Madison asked, curious how other people deal with their device.

Michael laughed, "I wouldn't make it through the first act without it. No, with the help of a very talented seamstress, I hide it within my costumes."

"Can you dance on your toes?" a little girl asked, inching her way towards Michael.

"Why yes I can, " Michael told the little girl, allowing her to sit on her lap. "Are you a ballerina?"

"Yes," the little girl laughed, giggling at the attention. "Can you show us?"

"Oh honey," her mother said, trying to coax her daughter from Michael's lap, "I'm sorry."

"No, that's fine," Michael said as a sly grin spread over her face. "You know, I normally dance with a partner, but he couldn't come with me today." Michael pulled her slippers out of her purse, tapping them against her hand. She wasn't sure what she should bring that morning before the car arrived. She knew all the players would be in uniform, but Michael wasn't about to trape through the hospital in a tutu, so she decided to bring her ballet slippers as a prop instead. "I think I will need a partner to show you. hmmmmm," Michael said, looking around the room, "does anyone know of a guy who is strong enough and athletic enough to maybe be able to help me out? Anybody?"

The room filled with the sounds of little girls cheering the name "Sidney." Michael laughed, pulling a jokingly protesting Sidney off the couch. Flashbulbs were flying as the strapping hockey player arranged his feet in first position. Sidney was always a good sport about things, but he knew this would follow him throughout the locker room for years.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

"I'm never going to live that down you know," Sidney said, barely getting Michael through the door before he began tearing her clothes off. It had been so long since he touched her body that it became painful.

"I want to tell my dad," Michael gasped, feeling Sidney's breath on her body.

"Now?" Sidney stopped long enough to realize Michael meant figuratively.

"No," Michael said pushing Sidney onto the couch straddling the bulge beneath her. "Later." Michael ground her body deeper into Sidney's lap, feeling his pulse throb between his thighs. "I am so sorry, I was acting like such a baby."

Sidney groaned burying his face into Michael's chest. "Don't leave me like that again. I don't like the other Michael."

Sidney's scent was intoxicating. Michael couldn't understand how she had been able to walk away from him for so long. His presence had her in a frenzy, shaking with desire. They clawed at one another, climbing each others bodies, trying to fill the hole their absence created. Sidney drove himself deeper into Michael thrusting harder with every pump. He wanted to punish her with pleasure, make her cry out that she needed him, and she did.

* * *

><p>Sidney bowed his head, knowing the punishment he was about to endure. The halls to the locker room were lined with newspaper, featuring his picture on the front page...in a full ballerina stance. A reporter had been in the lounge, catching the whole performance between Michael and Sidney. "Here we go," Sidney thought as he took a deep breath and opened the door to the locker room. All Sid could do was laugh as he was greeted by a team full of men singing Elton John's Tiny Dancer. The torment continued on the ice as the life size cut out of dancing Sidney appeared in goal.<p>

"Hey," Letang said, skating past Sidney on one leg like a figure skating ballerina, "are you coming tonight?"

"Yeah, where," Sidney said, remembering Michael had mentioned some of the guys wanting her to bring her friends to the clubs with them.

"To the Diesel Club, after the game," Kris said, spinning to a stop. "Your ballerina is coming, bringing a bunch of her friends." Kris's eyebrows raised up and down at the thought. "Hot dancers all for us!"

"Sure," Sidney said, with a smile.

"Just, shut up around Dan," Kris said, putting his arm around Sid, "He doesn't know we are taking Michael out tonight. I've got dibs on that sweet ass." Kris said, skating away with a foxy grin on his face before Sid could get a word in edge wise. And for the first time ever, Sidney felt like he wanted to punch a teammate.

* * *

><p>The business end of the arena was the last place Sidney wanted to be after his display in the paper. He tried to avoid Dan throughout practice unless he was with one of his linesmen. He didn't want to have to engage in idol chit chat in fear of the picture being brought up. He wasn't ashamed of it, Sidney just didn't want to have to lie about his relationship to Dan again. But Dan's office was just before Mario's, so the meeting was inevitable.<p>

"Sid," Dan said, calling from his office, "come in for a moment."

The entrance to Dan's office was like the Green Mile. Sidney was sure Dan figured him out from the picture in the paper.

"I spoke with Michael today," Dan said, giving Sidney a peculiar stare.

"Gulp," Sidney thought.

"She told me what you did for her at the hospital yesterday," Dan said with a smile, "Thanks. She needed that."

"No problem," Sidney said, internally sighing with relief. "She looked like she was drowning. I thought I would help her out. Anyone of us would have done it."

"So," Dan said, giving Sidney a look, "Michael said you were friends." It was not a question.

"Yeah," Sidney said, trying to sidestep the question. "We met at the Christmas party, and then when Nathalie had her over for dinner." Sidney felt Dan's eyes glare into his, knowing all along that he'd been sleeping with his daughter, making love to his daughter, in love with his daughter.

"OK then," Dan said, still giving Sidney that damn look like he knew he was holding something back. See you tonight. Oh, and 87," Dan said, stopping Sid from escaping, "leave your tu-tu at home."

Sidney laughed a forced chuckle, "Sure Dan, thanks."

* * *

><p>The limo Kris Letang sent picked the girls up at the ballet at ten thirty, as promised. Michael was still rethinking the provocative white top that was practically see through in the light. Natasha said she needed to look older than eighteen in the clubs, especially around the hockey players, which meant no bras allowed.<p>

Outside of Allen, only Michael's friend Lauren knew about Sidney. Michael was worried that one of the dancers might try to make a move towards Sid. They agreed to tell her dad about their relationship that Sunday, over dinner, which meant Michael was to keep her hands off Sidney, in public, until then.

"Aren't you going to dance?" Natasha said, moving provocitally around Sidney, letting him know she wasn't afraid of his body.

"Sid doesn't dance," Malkin said to the adoring Russian, "He like a moose on the dance floor. Let me show you how it's done."

Michael looked at Sidney as her crowd dispersed onto the floor. "Come out later," she said with a wicked smile, "I'll show you how it's done."

Sid sat in the booth, taking back drink after drink, watching his friends circle like vultures around Michael. The lights shone a cascade of nipple through her shirt, and his tolerance for his disappearance from her side was dwindling. His mind circled around the thought that in a few short days, it would all be public and he would be able to be properly represented at her side.

"You don't like any these girls?" Malkin said as he slid into the both next to Sid.

"Yeah, maybe, a little too much," Sid said under his breath.

"Just pick one and dance. They no care you look like ass." Malkin said, roaring like a bear. "They go bed with you anyways. You are Sid."

Sidney couldn't take it anymore, watching not just his friends, but all the other guys in the room staring Michael down, watching her body glimmer in the lights.

"Listen, I know you have girlfriend, but Em no here tonight. She never know." Malkin said, slapping Sid on the back.

Sidney shook his head, sliding out of the booth.

"Hey, where you going?" Malkin said, holding an empty glass indicating he wanted another.

"I'm going to dance with my girlfriend," Sid said, not looking back for a response.

Michael caught Sidney's eyes as he walked towards her on the dance floor, motioning with his finger for her to come to him. She stopped dancing as the smile spread over her lips, carrying her closer to him. They stood silent on the middle of the dance floor, on display for the whole room to see.

"Remember the first night I kissed you," Sidney said, pulling Michael closer.

"Yes," Michael said , zeroing in on Sidney's lips.

"I'm going to do that again." Sidney put his mouth to Michael's erasing any doubt that any other man in that room had any chance with her. He kissed her long and he kissed her hard. The music changed and the statement was made. Michael slipped into Sidney's arms for the rest of the night, entwining her body with his, dancing with Sidney, closer than anyone she had ever danced with before.

Sidney didn't find it strange that _all _his teammates needed to relieve themselves at the exact time as he did.

"What the hell , Tiny Dancer!" Jordan said, slapping Sid on the back, "are you trying to fuck the coach's daughter!"

"Damn it Sid," Kennedy said relieving himself next to him. "Dan's going to kill you. He's going to kill us for taking her out, and he's going to kill you for fucking her!"

"I'm not trying to do anything," Sid said, allowing his grin to creep it's way out, "I've been doing that for months. Em is really Michael."

"What the fuck," Kris said, slugging Sid in the shoulder, "Now you've crossed the line. You don't just fuck the coach's daughter."

"Hold on, I'm not just fucking the coach's daughter," Sidney said, lowering his voice. "I'm in love with her."

"What the hell," Kris said, "does Dan know?" Kris started laughing, "She's the girl that made you late for the road trip?"

"No, Dan doesn't know, yet, and yeah, that was her." Sidney's face blushed like any man's shouldn't. "It was all her."

"Oh come on, it not so bad," Malkin said, taking Sid's side. "Sid not a man whore like you Kris, Dan be OK." The Russian towered over Sidney, putting his arm around his friend. "Sid need sex anyways. He begin to be pussy on ice."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Michael rolled from her bed, suprised to see Sidney still asleep beside her. He was usually awake before she was, cooking her breakfast. Sidney would lie, pretending the meal was for his training, but Michael knew he was making sure she ate. But that morning, it was Michael who would be taking care of Sidney. His jealousy at the beginning of the night caused him to pound drink after drink, leaving his inhibition behind. Michael didn't mind though. Sidney had always been a laid back extroverted type of guy, except for in the public eye. Mario had groomed the young Captain to be the Prince of the franchise, always under control in public. Michael liked seeing Sid let loose for once. Sidney had held Michael close on the dance floor, grinding his body into hers. If Sidney had been trying to stake his claim on Michael, the statement had been made.

It only took the crack of an egg on the sizzling pan to send her stomach into convulsions. The wave of nausea swept through her without warning and Michael found herself bent over the sink, dry heaving the empty contents of her stomach.

"I know I'm supposed to hold your hair back, but I just can't this morning," a noticeably green Sid said, emerging from around the corner. "We drank a bit too much last night," his voice yelled as he escaped to the bathroom.

Michael was glad Sidney left the room, allowing her expression to consume her face. Panic set in as a second wave struck the sink. The alcohol would be the perfect alibi for her nausea if she had infact been drunk. Sure, she had one drink throughout the course of the night, but that was it. No more, no less. Michael knew her tolerance level was low, but not low enough to be hung over. The warm feeling of panic spread over Michael's body once again, as she reached for a second, more sensible possibility to the more obvious reason that tattooed itself against her brain. A ten second play by play of her future ran through her mind. She imagined what it would be like telling Sid, leaving the ballet...telling her dad. The third wave hit, more vomit. Michael tried to pull herself together, thinking of all the times they had sex. All the times they had been so careful to use protection, always using protection, everytime...except for that one night.

Frantically, Michael replayed their intimacy in her mind, backtracking to the night Sidney returned to her bed after the excruciatingly long road trip. Her mind froze on the way their eyes stared into eachother's after he released himself inside of her. How Sidney seemed to not care about the consequences, but only the way he held her body, still beneath him, by only a gaze. Her attention shifted to the late night snack they made together, refueling their bodies from the extensive bedroom workout. Michael looked at her refrigerator, remembering Sidney hanging the Canadian moose magnet that he brought back for her from Toronto. Sidney talked about wanting to take Michael to Nova Scotia to meet his family after she was ready to go public with their relationship. He had the Christmas gleam in his eye, excited to be able to do something he had never been able to do before.

Michael grabbed the Pen's schedule off the refrigerator, backtracking to the exact date almost seven weeks ago. Michael paused for a moment, realizing she had never had a period since she had been with Sidney. Infact, she could probubly count on her hand the number of periods she had in her life, a benefit she embraced from dancing. Michael's mind began to slow down, realizing the probubility of a girl who never menstruates, getting pregnant from not using protection once. "I wonder if the odds of that are greater than dating an NHL star," Michael thought, laughing at herself sarcastically.

Michael stepped off the bus a block from her apartment, wanting to put to rest the constant panic in the back of her mind. She didn't practice well. Alan said she was distracted, telling her to fix it before their next performance. The only way Michael knew how to fix it was to take a test. Michael was glad Alan had met someone, making it easier for her to ditch him that afternoon. Sidney went home to sleep off his hangover, which left Michael alone to take care of business. She told herself that this was a false alarm, which she was sure it was. Sidney would never have to know about it.

There were so many boxes to choose from, some of them contained only one test, others had as many as three. Some were digital while others used a plus or minus sign. She zeroed in on the most expensive test that would read pregnant or not pregnant. It's price ended with eighty-seven cents. Appropriate, she thought. Michael had become used to the idea, casually placing the pregnancy test on the register. The elderly check-out lady gave her a look as if she was too young to be buying the test, rolling her eyes as she scanned the box. Michael glanced at the magazines on the rack, trying to divert her attention from the judgement ringing her up when she saw herself plastered over the front page of the The Ledge, Pittsburgh's number one gossip newspaper magazine. The headline read Pittsburgh's Most Eligible Bachelor off the Market: Sidney Crosby's Secret Affair with the Coach's Daughter.

* * *

><p>The sun was still glaring painfully through the windows as Sidney made his way towards the kitchen. He was glad the kids were at school, he was in no condition for any type of noise. His glass of water did little to quench his overwelming thirst, only upsetting his stomach even more. "Late night?" Nathalie said, placing two pieces of plain toast infront of Sid, causing the color to drain even further from his face.<p>

"Yeah, you could say that," Sidney whispered, holding back the sickness. "We had a good time though."

"I can see that," Nathalie said, sliding a newspaper beside the toast. "I think all of Pittsburgh can see that."

Sidney's hangover did little to mask the pit that bore through his stomach as he saw images from the night before plastered on the cover of the paper. His eyes scanned the pictures, surveying the damage they had already done. A noticably drunk Sidney was shown dancing with Michael, who's top seemed to be almost see through beneath the club lights. Another picture showed the couple in a serious liplock while Sidney ran his hand up the inside of her skirt. The last, most innocent of them all, showed the couple walking hand in hand as they left the club. Sidney didn't bother to lift his head from the paper as his eye turned quickly to the extensive artical that followed. The artical read as if the couple had been watched the night before, giving a play by play of the night. Sidney's rage didn't really register until he turned the pages to 7A where the artical ended, allowing a second box full of type to appear. A close up of Michael's face, in full color appeared above what could only be decribed as her own personal biography.

"I knew this was going to happen," Nathalie said, pouring a cup of coffee for Sidney. "I should have seen it coming."

"You knew about this?" Sidney said, breaking his glance from the paper for the first time.

"About you and Michael, yes," Nathalie said, taking the chair next to Sid.

"How did you figure it out?" Sidney said, pushing the paper away from himself in disgust.

"It wasn't rocket science." Nathalie said with a chuckle. " I've seen the way you look at her, not to mention you are never home anymore. I was happy for you. I just assumed you would let everyone know when you were ready."

"I wanted to tell you, but," Sidney said blushing, "We wanted to see if it would last without any outside pressure before we told people. You know, so it wouldn't be awkward if it didn't work out. Not to mention Dan." Sidney's heart began to beat harder, realizing that Pascal had been right, it would be worse if Dan found out on his own. "Oh god, Dan's going to kill me. He really doesn't want Michael dating any of us."

"So is it working out, between the two of you? Nathalie said, placing her hand on Sidney's shoulder like he was her son.

"Yeah, yeah it is. I love her. We had planned to tell Dan on Sunday over dinner actually. I guess that's out." Sidney stood up from the chair, pacing at the thought that Michael was dealing with her centerfold on her own. "I've got to call Michael. Shit, I tried to shield her from this and the first time I let my guard down, this happens."

"Sit," Nathalie said, directing Sidney back to the chair. "We need to have a talk. It won't hurt to wait five more minutes before you deal with this mess." Nathalie left the kitchen, eyeing Sidney, warning him not to move. She returned with an album, filled with old pictures and newspaper clippings. "I begged Mario to let me talk to you about this, but he insisted it wasn't my place." Nathalie flipped through the book as a confused Sidney looked on. Carefully, Nathalie removed an old yellow article and handed it to Sidney. "They did the same thing to Mario and I when we first started dating. Our lives were documented daily, the good and the bad. Every choice we made, any rumors that may or may not have been true were put on display. My _life_ was put on display. I knew this day would come for you, I was just hoping it wouldn't have been so harsh."

"So what did you do?" Sidney said, reading the artical bashing Nathalie's premarital pregnancy.

"I tried to avoid it, not read newspapers anymore. But that only sheltered me for so long." Nathalie sighed, remembering how hard the first years were. "Eventually, I realized, the more I hid from the press, the more they push. So, one day, I stopped hiding, and started talking. I'm not going to pretend that it always worked, but it did make it easier. It's harder to spin a story from the truth."

"None of this is really real," Sid said, gesturing at the photos. "I would never mean to embarrass our families like that. All of these pictures are taken out of context. "

"I know Sid, I trust you. You don't have to explain things to me." Nathalie laughed, shutting the album. A devilish smile crept across her face, "Don't worry too much about it. They caught me topless once too. My father never killed Mario."

* * *

><p>The yelling didn't start until later. Dan sat motionless on Michael's couch, waiting for his daughter to return. He hadn't tried to call her. Dan always felt it was better to confront the situation head on, although, if Sidney had been at the arena when he saw the Ledge, the Penguins might have been short one Captain before it was all over. Michael almost screamed as she opened her front door only to realize it was her father sitting there. Knowing what was about to happen, Michael took a deep breath, and headed to the table to drop her bags.<p>

"I love him Dad," Michael said without turning around. She expected him to scream, tell her she was too young to know what love is. Preach to her _again _about how he doesn't want her to end up like her mother. "And he loves me."

Michael hesitantly took a seat across from her dad, waiting for him to speak, waiting for anything. But instead, Dan sat quietly before his daughter, never dropping his eye contact.

"Dad, you have to say something," Michael said, trying not to let a tear emerge.

"Call him," Dan said, allowing not a trace of emotion in his voice.

"Dad," Michael said, not wanting to bring Sid into the storm.

"Call him!" Dan said, raising his voice like he was in the locker room.

The room stayed eerily calm for the half hour it took Sid to arrive at Michael's aparment. Dan didn't wait for Michael to answer the door, allowing himself to open the door with a authority, even though Sidney towered over Dan. "We need to talk."

Sidney wanted to tell Dan that their relationship was none of his business, that he needed to let Michael make her own choices. But that was not that type of person Sidney was. That wasn't that type of person he wanted to be. He wanted desperatly for Dan to accept him, make him part of his family. Sidney decided it was better to keep his mouth shut, because in the long run, he was sure Dan would forgive them, accept them, and maybe even consider him as a son.

"You need to take your coat off son," Dan said with force, "this is going to take a while."

"Dad," Michael said, on the verge of shouting. "This is enough, I'm not a kid anymore."

"No, it's OK Michael," Sidney said, aggreeing with Dan. "It's time we came clean."

Sidney laid his coat next to the bags on the table, grabbing his phone to place it on silence. There would be no distractions. Sidney slid his phone back in the pocket of his jacket, only to notice a glimps of the box creeping out of the plastic bag. Things didn't register. Dan's voice didn't register. Thinking didn't register. Slowly Sidney lifted the small rectangular box from within the bag, staring at the contents of the box. "Are you pregnant?"


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Michael made her way through the crowd, pushing past the reporters. Even though Sidney was only parked a few feet away, the idea of enduring her daily photo shoot was exhausting. Rumors spread, whether they were true or not. Michael had become the topic of interest ever since the news broke that her dad, head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins, was no longer speaking to her because of her relationship with the team's Captain. News was being leaked from the locker room to the press, discussing the tension and atmosphere at the arena. But the chaos didn't erupt until the possibility that a pregnancy may have been the catalyst to the feud.

"I swear, the next time, I am just going to tell them," Michael said, slamming the door to the SUV. "I'm going to stop and give them my own little press conference, tell them everything."

"I'm not stopping you," Sidney said, taking Michael's hand.

"I couldn't even get out of my apartment this morning. Allen had to come to my door to get me." Michael sighed out of frustration. "I know Mario said to stay quiet, but this," Michael said, gesturing to her entourage of reporters, "this is insane. They are going to find out soon enough anyways." Michael turned to watch her building where she danced disappear into the distance. "Today was my last day."

"What?" Sidney said, surprised by the news. "Why so soon?"

"I can't hide it anymore," Michael said, lifting her shirt to inspect her stomach. " I have a bump.

"Where," Sidney said, feeling Michael's stomach for any sign that he was in fact growing inside of her. "Your stomach is still flat."

"You can tell in my leotard. It's definitely there," Michael said. "I am four months pregnant."

"Will they hire you back after it's born?" Sidney said, knowing that Michael had been handed all the sacrifices in having his baby.

"I hope so," Michael said, putting on her best smile. Her grandmother had always been forth coming about the affects a baby could have on a professional dancer, openly acknowledging the three pregnancies she terminated for the sake of her career. Michael had spent the morning before her final performance, staring at her changing body in the mirror, doing the simplest of bar exercises, wondering if she had made the right decision, wondering if Sidney would have given up hockey for her.

"How's Allen taking it?" Sid said, reaching over to kiss Michael at a red light.

"He's pissed, but he will get over it." Michael starred out her window, thinking about how out of control things had become.

"Are _you_ OK?" Sidney said, noticing the tear that rolled down Michael's cheek.

"No," Michael said, nodding to the window. "I had lunch with Mary Beth today. He won't budge. He doesn't want to see me at all." Michael's voice began to crack. "Why are your parents OK with this? Everyone who cares about you is OK with this. Allen's mad at me, my dad won't speak to me, my grandmother won't answer the phone when I call, and my mom, don't get me started there. Do you know I asked her to visit so she could meet you. Do you know what she said? She can't right now, they are going on a cruise next month. A cruise. I tell her she is going to be a grandmother and all she can talk about is a god damn cruise" Michael tried to stay calm, but the tears began to flow. Michael's emotions had been boiling for so long that they finally burst into an all out sob.

Sidney pulled the car onto the side of the road, dodging the traffic as he opened his door. He couldn't get to Michael fast enough. Sidney knew Michael was hurting. Her family was devastating her, but it was Dan's silence that was destroying her the most. Michael discovered what it was like to have a father, only to have that pulled away from her so quickly.

"Hey," Sidney said, unbuckling Michael's seat belt, sliding her towards him, "It's going to be OK. I'm going to fix this, I promise. Look at me Michael." Sidney lifted Michael's chin, forcing her eyes on him. "I promise. I will fix this. "

"How?" Michael said burying her face in Sidney's chest. "He won't talk to me, he won't talk to you."

"He's coming around," Sidney said. "He didn't talk to me today, but he did acknowledge me at least."

"How," Michael said, looking back into Sid's eyes.

"I went to his office like I do every day, trying to talk to him." Sidney said, rubbing Michael's tears away with his thumbs.

"And," Michael said faintly.

"And," Sidney said, "when I started talking to him about how you are doing, this time he didn't just leave the room, he slammed his clipboard on the desk and walked out."

"How is that good?" Michael said, confused.

"Michael, he's feeling something now at least. Before, it was like he was emotionless. It's good that he's finally feeling something." Sidney said, bringing his head to hers. "Plus," Sidney said smiling, "I left one of the sonogram pictures on his desk. How can he stay mad at that?"

"I hope you're right," Michael said, pushing Sidney away. "It's just that everything has changed for me and nothing has for you. I have no one left, everyone keeps leaving me."

"I'm still here," Sidney said, stepping away, frustrated. "Why do you always think I am going to leave you?"

"Because it seems to be the going rate these days. The people in my life are dropping like flies, and I wake up every morning wondering if today will be the day that you leave too." Michael breathed into her hands, trying not to imagine what it would be like without Sidney. "God, I hate feeling like this, but I can't stop it. Everything has me so twisted around."

"What do I need to do to prove to you that I love you?" Sidney said, running his hand through his hair out of frustration.

"I guess I just need to know, if this was all reversed. Would you give up everything for me? Would you change your life for me? Lose your family? Stop playing hockey? Would you give that all up for me?" Michael starred at the wet spots on her jeans, running her finger around their edges, letting her mind drift far from reality to her world only a few short months ago. A world where everything was the way it used to be, normal. Michael let herself get lost in the comfort of her past, for a short moment, almost tuning out the screams of young girls, shouting his name as they stopped their car beside theirs.

"God, not this, not now," Michael thought, as she turned her head in time to see a truck's tires trying to screech to a stop, swerving to miss the car full off teenagers, only to head directly for theirs.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The phone call was the last thing Dan had expected. Mary Beth had seen the news when it interrupted her program. The ambulances were still at the scene, working on Michael and Sidney when the swarm of reporters arrived. Michael's horror was played out on live Tv as she screamed Sidney's name in hysterics in between every contraction. The public finally had their answer as to if Michael was carrying Sidney's child, but they had to wonder for how much longer.

Dan almost collapsed in his office as he saw the images from the news copter of Sidney, laying lifeless on the ground as the EMT crew performed CPR. The camera work was almost Hollywood, flashing back and forth between his daughter's hysterics and Sidney's life, slipping before his eyes.

It was difficult trying to figure out which hospital they were being taken to, but Dan took a chance and headed to Mcgee Women's hospital, the first place he could think that an ambulance would take a conscious pregnant woman. The little over a mile drive from the arena was plastered with rush hour traffic. Dan felt helpless in a panic as he was stopped on fifth avenue, waiting for any movement on the road. When he saw the lights of an ambulance flashing by, Dan gunned it along the berm of the road, scrapping the side of his car in full persuit. It never occurred to him that his daughter might not be the passanger in the ambulance.

Dan rolled out of his car, just as Michael was being lifted from the ambulance. Her head was bleeding, but that seemed to be the least of her problems. Michael was crying, clutching her stomach as if it was the only thing she had left of Sidney.

There was a lapse in time, generated full of phone calls between Dan and Mary Beth and Mario, and anyone else who had Dan's number. It was as if there were two home bases. Dan held vigil at Mcgee for news of his daughter, waiting for Mary Beth and Allen to arrive, while the Lemieuxs held camp down the street at Presbyterian hospital with Sidney.

"Mr. Bylsma," a younger looking man in a white lab coat said, extending his hand. "My name is Dr. Merandes. If you would like, we can step into one of the family rooms to discuss your daughter's condition."

"Yes, please," Dan said, eager to find anything out about his daughter, good or bad.

"Michael is stable, so that is the good news," the Dr said, gesturing for Dan to sit down.

"And the baby?" Dan said, too nervous to sit.

"Honestly, only time will tell. I ordered an ultrasound and we found a heartbeat, but," Dr Merandes said, "Michael is in active labor. We have started a cocktail to try and stop her labor, but you need to be prepaired if we can't. Michael is only seventeen weeks pregnant, if she does deliver, there will be nothing we can do for the baby. Twenty-three weeks is the magic number, and in your daughter's case, that's still a long way away.

"I understand," Dan said, clutching the ultrasound picture he hid in his pocket earlier. Sidney knew his coach wouldn't be able to stay frozen towards Michael at the site of his unborn grandchild. Dan's chest began to tighten at the thought of how he had acted towards his own daughter.

"Mr. Bylsma," Dr Merandes said, "there are some other issues we need to be concerned about."

"Please, call me Dan," he said, finally taking a seat.

"When the truck hit their SUV, Michael was ejected from the front seat. The EMTs said the driver was able to slow down enough before he hit them, but obviously the impact was enough to do some damage. Michael's insuline pump was torn out when she hit the ground, which, until we are able to get her into the operating room to replace it, will be something that will have to be managed. But what I am really concerned about is the guard post that Michael slid into. Her Kidney seems tender, there could be some damage. Michael informed me of a previous diabetic attack that left one of her kidneys slightly damaged. I ordered some labs and an ultrasound of her kidneys. That's the best we can do at the moment until we get her contractions under control, which, at the moment are not."

"Can I see her?" Dan said, ignoring the constant buzzing of his phone in his pocket.

"Ofcourse," the Dr said, "she's been asking for you."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Anais Mercier walked down the hall, without making a sound, in her expensive high heels. Even at seventy-six, the former prima ballerina still conducted herself as such with her hair pulled back in the tightest of bun, that peaked her perfect posture. Even though the drive from New york City to Pittsburgh only took a little over four hours, Anais didn't arrive at the hospital until the early hours of the morning. It would have been considered rude to leave her previous commitments to rush to her granddaughter's bedside. Michael was alive,and her burden was nothing more than that.

Dan hadn't slept a second, sitting next to his only daughter, holding her hand throughout the night. Scenes from his arrival kept replaying in his mind, watching Michael unable to control herself, not knowing the fate of Sidney or their child. Dan tried many times to console Michael, knowing her contractions would never ease as long as she was that upset. Eventually the nurse had to sedate her. Dan's heart ached as he listened to Michael drift in and out of conscious, having an imagined conversation with Sidney. Dan endured Michael pouring her heart out about her father's disownment being the deepest cut of them all. Dan knew it would take a lifetime to try to make up for the pain he caused his daughter, and even then, he knew he would still fall short.

"I wondered if I would find you here," Anais said, handing Dan a cup of coffee as a make-shift peace offering for the past eighteen years. "How is she?"

"She's hanging in there," Dan said, slowly standing to stretch with a nod, the only form of a thank you he could muster towards the woman who wedged a divide between him and his daughter all these years. Dan accepted the responsibility of never being around, but Anais always had some kind of hand in his absence, making his presence a constant struggle. Dan made no excuses as to why he finally gave up. One day he woke up and decided her was tired of fighting and needed to move on with his life, which meant moving on from Michael. . a mistake from his youth that took age to realize.

"I gather from the monitors that she is still pregnant," Anais said, turning her nose at the thought. "I had hoped we were going to dodge that bullet."

Dan could feel his veins boiling, remembering Anais' reaction when she found out Jacquelyn was pregnant for Michael. It was like deja vous.

"And the boy?" Anais said, lifting one of the ultrasound pictures that had been taken only hours before.

"His name is Sidney, and he's hanging in there as well," Dan said, knowing far to well which direction this conversation was going.

Anais sighed, running her hand along her stretched hair, making sure every piece was still in perfect order. "I suppose that means Michael will still be playing house then."

"What are you even doing here Anais," Dan said, making it clear that she had worn out her welcome.

"Oh please, don't begin to think you are the Father of the year. I know about your little silent treatment over the past two months."

"And I was wrong and admit it," Dan said, trying not to raise his voice. " I'm here now."

"As am I," Anais said, pulling a chair on the other side of Michael's bed. She stared at Dan, studying his face longer than she ever had before. His scares from years of playing hockey were more prominent with age, and he wore them with pride as a badge of honer. "They must get this from my husbands side of the family," Anais said, meaning Jacquelyn and Michael. "Both mother and daughter each going after barbarians like that."

* * *

><p>The room was still as dark as it was the last time she was awake. Michael knew by the shows on the TV that she had been asleep for hours.<p>

"He's going to be fine," Dan said before Michael could get a word out. "Before you start to get upset again, he's going to be fine. I've been on the phone, back and forth with Mario and Sidney's parents all day. He's going to be fine."

"How do you know?" Michael said as her heart rate began to skyrocket.

"Calm down, I don't want to have to see you sedated again over good news." Dan said, letting a smile expand on his face for the first time in two months. "I'm going to tell you what happened, but you have to promise me you will not get upset. Your contractions have mostly stopped, only showing up every once in a while, so you need to stay calm or they will sedate you again."

"I promise, I will stay calm," Michael said as she noticed the trademark Louie Vuitton purse with matching gloves sticking out of the back pocket. "Is my grandmother here?"

"Yes," Dan said joking, "which is exactly why I need you to stay calm. I can't sit here by myself with her for another minute."

"Dad, please, where is she?" Michael said, distracted by the thought of her father and grandmother alone in the same room. "Wait, tell me about Sidney first. Where is he?"

"You have to stay calm," Dan said, still hesitant that he might upset his daughter.

"Dad, please!" Michael said, as her heart rate spiked again. "OK, OK, I promise. Calm."

"He's up the road at Presbyterian Hospital in the Cardiac Unit. When the truck was heading for his SUV, Sidney tried to pull you out. The truck hit his SUV before he could get to you. You flew out, off the seat, but Sidney was left standing in the way of the accident. The truck hit the back side of his SUV, smacking it into his chest causing his heart to stop. They called it, hold on," Dan said as he reached for a piece of paper. "I had to write it down to remember what it was called. OK, here it is, Commotio Cordis. The impact of his SUV hitting his chest made his heart beat out of rhythm, causing it to stop. "

Michael could feel the tears coming as the lump formed in her throat. "What does that mean, his heart stopped?" Michael said, trying her best to suppress the panic.

"Sidney's heart stopped beating from it being out of rhythm, which meant he didn't have a pulse. I'm not sure of the exact details yet, but someone stopped, a doctor or something like that. They recognized what was going on. They started CPR before the paramedics arrived. They had to use a defibrillator to restart his heart. I know you remember seeing that, you told me about that yesterday."

"I did?" Michael said, confused by her fuzzy memory.

"Yes, Michael," Dan said, "he's very lucky. Most people don't survive that."

"Will he be OK? Will he every play again?" Michael said, letting the panic begin to show.

"Most likely, but there is always a chance that he won't be able to," Dan said, sitting next to his daughter, realizing she was about to loose it again. "Michael, they think he will make a full recovery, but he will have to go through an intense Cardiac work-up before they will let him step foot on the ice again. But his Dr is very optimistic."

"And the Play-offs?" Michael said, looking away from her father.

"He's done for the season," Dan said as his daughter finally gave in to the dramatics building inside of her.

"I need to talk to him, to see him," Michael said barely getting the words out. "This is all my fault! I need to see him. I asked him if he would give everything up for me right before the truck hit! I asked him to give everything up for _me_ and he stepped in front of a truck for..." the pain began to grip Michael's stomach like a demonic vice, slowly squeezing her stomach. The pain was worse than she remembered, holding her attention on her hardening stomach, not realizing Dan had ran for the nurse. Her contraction hadn't had time to subside before a nurse filled Michael's IV with a shot of medicine that quickly made her world go dark.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Everyone tried to prepare Sidney for the first time he stepped foot into Michael's hospital room. It had been a week since they last saw eachother, let alone heard eachother's voices. Sidney wanted more than anything to call Michael everyday he spent in the hospital, only to be discouraged by anyone within arms reach of a phone. Michael was inconsolable everytime his name was mentioned. She blamed herself for Sidney trying to save her, asking him to give everything up for her.

Michael slept in her bed, unaware that Sidney was standing at her door, steadying himself at what he saw. She looked frail beneath the tubes and monitors connected to her pale skin. The baby was still alive, living inside of her, but the measures being taken to keep it there were cashing in on Michael's life. A stronger regimen was needed to stop Michael's labor, but the medicine was taking it's toll on her already fragile kidneys. Mario warned Sidney that Michael's system wasn't agreeing with her treatment, making her nauseated and weak. Dialysis was ordered three times a week to provide relief from the toxins being pumped into her body. Sidney couldn't help feel like he was in fact the toxin that caused the once vibrant woman he fell in love with to wither before him.

"What happened to her?" Sidney said as he stepped from Michael's room, searching for air to fill his bruised chest. Sidney gripped the wall before him, trying to squeeze the reality from his body, wincing beneath his strength.

"What's wrong," Trina said, extending her arms to steady her son. "Do you need a chair? Can someone get us a chair?"

"No, Mom," Sidney said, signaling the crowd that hovered around him to step away. "I'm fine, I was hit by a fucking truck and I'm fine." Sidney stepped back into the doorway, staring at Michael, trying to make sense of the situation. He was practicaly invincible, looking death in the eye. He felt like nothing could ever kill him, except for what laid before him. Michael was Sidney's kryptonite. "Can I have a minute alone with her, please."

Sidney closed the door to the room behind him, slowly walking to Michael's bedside, taking a seat in the chair that still felt warm from Dan's constant presence. Sidney ran his hand along Michael's face, bringing his lips to hers once more. He breathed in her breathe that not so long ago could have been lost forever.

For that brief moment, Michael forgot where she was. The dim lighting in the room reminded her of how Sidney used to wake her up in the morning when the drapes were still drawn, pressing his lips upon hers, rolling on top of her, sliding himself inside of her. Michael allowed herself to run her fingers through Sidney's hair, rolling her body into his, only to remember where she was by the constant beating of the tiny heart that echoed from the monitor beside her.

"You're here," Michael said, not believing what she saw. Her grasp on Sidney's body became tighter, pulling herself into his with what little strength she had left. "You're alive," she said, letting the tears fall from her face.

"Of course I'm alive," Sidney said, holding Michael as tightly as he could, "didn't you believe them when they told you I was OK?"

"No," Michael said, sobbing into Sidney's arms. "I thought they were lying to me because I never heard from you. They said you were awake, but you never called. I thought you had died and they weren't telling me. Why didn't you at least call me?"

"They were afraid you would get too upset and go into labor again," Sidney said, pulling himself away to look into Michael's eyes. "Just to get it down on record, I would still give everything up for you and the baby, even die for you, and not because you asked me to, but because I love you." Sidney placed his lips on Michael's once again, only this time causing her heart to race. "By the way," Sidney said, letting his smile show in his kiss, "you look terrible, like you were hit by a truck or somethinig."

"So do you," Michael said more serious, as she slid her hand between the slits in his shirt, slowly unbuttoning it to reveal the black and blue marks that engraved his chest. "Oh my God! Your chest!"

"It's OK Michael, really, I'm fine. It's just sore right now." Sidney took Michael's hand, holding it to her side. "I'm here, I'm alive, and I'm fine. I'm sore and a little tired, but I'm fine. I don't want you to worry about _me_ anymore. I want to worry about you and the baby."

* * *

><p>In a hospital room with Michael clutching onto Sidney was the last place he imagined introducing her to his parents. The actual introduction went smoothly enough. The Crosbys were already aquainted with the Bylsmas, allowing the parents to talk freely amongst themselves about the couple being too young for a baby. Sidney's father, Troy, started the first round of hard questions, leading into where they would live once the baby was born. Sidney and Michael may have been present in the room, but they were in no way considered as part of the conversation. Instead, they lived in a world all their own, clinging to one another, trying to make up for the moments lost. Sidney could feel the desperation in Michael's grasp, not wanting to let him go, even to use the bathroom. Sidney could see the look in his mother's eyes when Sidney had to promise he wouldn't be gone long.<p>

Michael found herself tuning out her surroundings, resting her head on Sidney's chest. Michael worried that it might be too painful for Sidney, but couldn't pull herself from the spot she had claimed her own. Trina watched her son with a woman for the first time, allowing himself to show just how vulnerable he was around her. Trina thought of her son, once a boy not long ago, clinging to her every move, without a care in the world except for hockey. Watching her son become a man, bringing his own life into the world, was something she hadn't realized would be so difficult. Despite his comedic demure, Sidney showed a touch of pain in his eyes every time he looked at Michael, which was always followed with panic, quickly glancing at the monitor of his unborn child.

Michael held on as long as she could before her exhaustion overcame her. Sidney tried to remain vibrant around his family, but the rings beneath Sidney's eyelids gave him away, sparking pleads from his mother to sleep in his own bed that night. Sidney knew his mother was worried about him and that she wanted more than anything to take him home to heal, all the way to Nova Scotia if he would allow.

"Please Sidney," Trina pleaded, worried that Sidney had tried too much that day. "Please go home to your bed. You need to rest. How will you take care of Michael and the baby if you are sick yourself?"

"The only way I'm leaving this room tonight is if I were hit by a truck," Sidney said, trying unsuccessfully to make light of a situation that was already undebatable.

"Sidney, that's not funny," Trina said, tearing up at the thought of the phone call she received a week ago, letting her know how close she was to loosing her son.

"Mom," Sidney said, slowly lifting himself from under Michael's grasp, "I can't leave her, I can't leave them."

* * *

><p>"You must be the boy," Anais said, flipping on the lights earlier than they were intended to be.<p>

"Grandmother," Michael said, blocking the light with her hand. "Why are you here so early?"

"It's 6 am, what time did you want me to be here?" Anais said, giving Michael a look. "Perhaps I should go back to New York." Anais starred at Sidney, surveying him up and down. "Come on, stand up, let me take a look at the boy that you threw your life away for."

"Grandmother!" Michael said, appalled by her abruptness. "I'm sorry," Michael said to Sidney, giving him a frustrated look. "Sidney, this is my grandmother, Anais Mercier. Grandmother, this is Sidney."

"Well come on boy, stand up so I can see you," Anais said, snapping her fingers. "Please tell me my great-grandaughter isn't going to have those lips and thighs. How will she be a dancer with those tree trunks? At least your mother picked a barbarian that left you with features to dance. "

"It's a girl?" Sidney said, forgetting his introduction. "When did you find out?"

"I didn't tell you?" Michael said, still fuzzy from anything that had happened the entire week. "I found out the other day. There are like a hundred ultrasound pictures of her in the drawer."

"I hope I'm not being ignored by a couple of pictures," Anais said with a beaty stare towards the boy who ignored her entrance. "Cosette's picture show will be there after I leave, turn to me boy, I want to talk to you."

"I'm sorry Mrs. Mercier, I apologize, " Sidney said, a little taken back. Sidney extended his hand to greet the woman who's stare bore through him.

"Do I look like a man, boy," Anais said, gesturing towards Sidney's hand.

"Grandmother, stop it," Michael said, as she looked at Sidney, who was more intimidated by the 90 pound woman than he was of any 250 pound hockey player.

"That's enough Michael," Anais said with a stern voice, "If another barbarian had the nerve to put another Cosette into one of my girls, then that barbarian and I have business to attend to. Mr. Crosby, I suspect you will join me for breakfast in the cafeteria. And that is not a question."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Michael was kidding herself when she thought she would be able to fall back asleep. Her grandmother had stolen Sidney from her room, for interrogation and God knows what else. Anais wasn't the easiest woman to get along with, Michael knew that well from years at her side, but she usually caved at whatever Michael wanted, and she wanted Sidney and the baby more than anything in the world.

Dan arrived a little later, making his morning visit before he would head to the arena. Today was the first day he allowed himself to go back to work, resisting his constant plight beside his daughters bed. Sidney was well enough to visit, and Dan knew he would make a third wheel as a constant presence in the hospital room. As much as it still bothered him to see his eighteen year old daughter deflowered and pregnant, deep down he knew it couldn't have happened with a better guy than Sidney.

"Where's Sid?" Dan said, entering Michael's room with a fresh bouguet of flowers. "I didn't think I would see him away from you until you left the hospital."

"Ugh," Michael said, looking almost green, "Grandmother was here bright and early this morning. She made him go to breakfast with her."

"She did, did she," Dan said, as the laughter began to escape his mouth. "Well. I can't say I feel bad for him. She did the same thing to me when your mother was pregnant." A slight chill ran through Dan's body at the thought of Anais' cold eyes borring through him when Jacquelyn broke the knews that they were expecting almost nineteen years ago.

"Dad, it's not funny! Would you please go downstairs to the cafeteria and save him!" Michael said, slightly irritated with her dad.

"No way Michael," Dan said, still laughing. "You two made your own bed in this mess, and you can deal with her yourself. I've already been down that road, and I never want to have to do that again! I remember she called the police and tried to have me arrested for impregnating my own wife!"

"Dad, be serious, this is serious, go get him!"

"I am being serious Michael. Sid's a big boy, he can handle her," Dan said, pausing for a moment to grow softer in his words. "So he's really it for you then? Sid. You're really in love with him?"

"Yeah, he is," Michael said, blushing towards her dad. "I'm really happy with him."

"I'm just worried that he doesn't really know the extent of what he's getting himself into. I mean, you have a lot of problems." Dan immediatly regretted his words, wishing he could turn back the last few seconds. Michael's face looked more hurt than her body, releasing the years of torment her health played on her. "That's not how I meant that to come out Michael, really, just hear me out. When we first found out you were diabetic, it was very hard on your mother and I. We were kids ourself, having to deal with it."

"So you had to deal with me?" Michael said, "I was something to deal with? Are you going to tell me now that I'm the reason you and Mom got a divorce?"

"Michael, stop! Listen to me before you start getting upset," Dan said, thinking that his daughter could be farther from anything like her mother except for when she became irrational. "First off, you were never the reason your mom and I got a divorce. I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that it wasn't harder than it could have been with you when you were little, but it was never because of you. What I meant was, I'm afraid to think about how you will walk out of here after all of this. I've never pretended to not listen to the doctors. I know what the possibilities are with you, and the baby. I'm just saying, it might not be easy, for you or Sidney, and as you father, I want to know if this kid is going to stick around through all of it. That is just something any Dad would want to know when it comes to his daughter."

"Because you didn't stick around..." Michael said, letting her words slip to a whisper.

"Yes, because I didn't stay," Dan said, hearing the words come out of his own mouth for the first time. "Michael, I never once thought of myself as the type of guy who would leave his wife and child, but I did, and I hate it like hell that I did, but I did. I was young and stupid, and I can't change that. Why do you think I was so mad at the two of you for so long. I just didn't want to see what happened to your mom happen to you."

"I know you keep saying that to me, what happened to mom. No hockey players because of what happened to Mom. So, what exactly did happen to Mom?" Michael said, finally asking the question she never had to nerve to ask.

"OK, fair enough," Dan said, finally pulling his chair beside his daughter. "I loved your mom, more than anything in the world. She was beautiful and outgoing and had this way to charm me unlike any other woman I had ever met. When I married her, I thought nothing in the world would ever keep us apart. I see that between you and Sid when he looks at you. But, after you were born, things got a little rocky. I was gone all the time with the team, jumping from city to city. Jackie was alone by herself with you, all the time. She kept telling me she was lonely, but I didn't listen to her. She wanted to move back to New York during the season, with Anais, but I wouldn't let her. I sometimes think that if I would have just agreed to that, we might have lasted longer. Who knows. But I was stubborn and didn't think she should go. Everytime I came home, the fighting got worse until finally I couldn't take it anymore. I began to resent your mom for resenting me. There was this woman, a trainer for the team I was playing for who was working on my knee. She was smart and beautiful and funny, and I liked being able to have a conversation without having an arguement, so..."

"You had an affair," Michael said, tearing at her father's confession that had been kept a secret for so many years.

"Jackie found out, I'm not really sure how she did, but I returned home after an away stretch and she had already taken you to New York," Dan said, wincing at the reminder of what tore his family apart.

"So it was me, I mean, it seems to me that if I hadn't been born, you two might have made it," Michael said, thinking all parents say it was never the kids fault, but deep down she knew she had to have had something to do with their divorce.

"No Michael! It was never you!" Dan said, pleading with his daughter. "It's the life. If I would have been home all the time, I would have been there. I was more like a visitor in my own home. I panick everytime I think of you and Sid together, raising this baby. I know the reality of it. Financially, you will be fine, but those away stretches become awfully lonely, especially when you are stuck at home with a baby."

"It won't be like that, it can't be," Michael said, letting her stubborness show.

"I hope not," Dan said shaking his head. "Believe me when I say, I never want that for you. I want to make sure Sidney is better than I was. When I found out you were pregnant, I wanted to kick his ass! But really, I think I wanted to kick my own ass. Letting you out of my life for so long was the biggest mistake I have ever made.


End file.
